Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said on Sunday the 12 Malaysian activists who were on board a Gaza-bound aid ship subjected to a violent and bloody Israeli attack on Monday had achieved a huge moral victory for Malaysia and its people.
The prime minister said the incident involving the Turkish ship "Mavi Marmara", in which nine Turkish activists were killed, had sparked worldwide awareness of the atrocities of the Israeli regime, leading to global condemnation, including in the United States.
Najib spoke at a homecoming reception at his residence here for the 12 Malaysian activists who had returned early today. Also present at the function was his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Ahmad Maslan.
He said: "Surely, what they (the volunteers) went through has not only touched our hearts but has opened the eyes of the people of Malaysia and the rest of the world to the atrocities of the Zionist regime towards the people of Palestine which hitherto we have read about and seen on television.
"After this incident, at least these 12 Malaysians can relate from their experience how human beings can, without any humanitarian feelings, be so cruel in carrying out acts which we can describe as terrorism.
"When this history is written in the future, these volunteers and others as well as the government and people of Malaysia can be said to be a part of the world which drove the consciousness of the world to fight injustice."
Hailing the 12 activists as national heroes, Najib said he was thankful that all of them returned safely to Malaysia.
The prime minister said the government would take the necessary measures to pursue the cause of upholding freedom, justice and human rights.
"It is for this reason that we will act to pass a resolution in Parliament tomorrow. I have also said that we do not want to stop at resolutions condemning the Zionist regime.
"We want to take follow-up action in any form so that the Israeli regime realises that what it does cannot be accept by the world on the basis of humanitarian principles and respect for international law," he said.
The struggle would continue, no matter how long it took, so that the people of Palestine would be able to live in peace and freedom as citizens of a sovereign nation one day, he said.
Najib said the Israeli regime should not only offer an apology but also make compensation payments to the families of the nine people who were killed in Monday's incident.
"It was a blatant act of aggression and terrorism, and I would not want to say anything less. I want to say that this can be interpreted as a state form of terrorism. This is an example of what has been done by the Israeli regime.
"More so when the people on the ship (Mavi Marmara) were unarmed, and were inhumanly attacked by shooting at close range. It was a cold-blooded act of killing committed by the commandos on the instruction of the Tel Aviv regime," he said.
At the function, Ahmad announced a donation by corporate organisations of US$5,000 (RM16,370) to each of the families of the nine activists killed in the incident.
