PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed joined other Malaysian leaders in condemning the terror attacks in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, where 49 people lost their lives today.
“We will do everything possible to see that the Malaysians there are safe. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.”
DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng joined his Amanah counterpart Datuk Seri Mujahid Yusuf Rawa in denouncing the violence, saying that DAP condemns the horrific attacks on mosques in Christchurch.
“It is not only a crime against the Muslim community in Christchurch, but also against all of humanity.”
Penang senior state executive councillor Phee Boon Poh, who has a son living in New Zealand, said that no religion condones or promotes violence.
“We must band together in such times to stand up against all forms of violence and intimidation.”
Mujahid expressed his condolences to the families of the dead and said that he had prayed for Muslims in New Zealand and elsewhere in the world to be protected by God from similar threats.
As of 5pm, two Malaysians were reported injured, while four suspects including a woman have been arrested by the security authorities.
But one young Malaysian boy named Haziq, the young son of one of the injured Malaysians, was reportedly missing in the ensuing chaos.
Malaysians there have banded together to locate the boy, who was with his father at one of the mosques.
Meanwhile, social media was rife with postings that a Penang-born man named Rahimi Ahmad, 39, played dead to escape the attention of one of the shooters.
He was initially reported as missing following the double massacre, but a fellow Malaysian, who preferred not to be named, later said that Rahimi was located but that he was wounded.
As of now, more 40 people were also reportedly injured as the assassins struck at an opportune time when Muslim worshipers were getting ready for their weekly Friday prayers.
A Malaysian survivor of shooting has described how he ran for his life as the bullets flew.
Malaysian Noor Hamzah, 54, said when the shooting began he ran outside along with scores of others.
They hid behind cars in the rear car park at the Deans Ave mosque.
“This is a disaster for New Zealand. A black day,“ Noor Hamzah was reported as saying by the New Zealand Herald newspaper.
He said the shooting felt like it lasted for at least 15 minutes.
Armed police later stormed the building, and Hamzah could see dead bodies lying at the front entrance.
He looked in the mosque windows and saw “piles of bodies”.
Hamzah came to New Zealand to study in the early 1980s, before settling there in 1998.
He was stunned by today’s massacre.
“I can’t imagine something like this happening at all. It hasn’t sunk into my head yet. I think I’ll go into shock over the next couple of days. I hope I am strong enough.”
The Royal Malaysian High Commission in Wellington released a statement via its official Facebook account:
“As reported, there was a shooting incident in Christchurch mosque at 1.40pm today. We are in close contact with the local authorities to get further details on the victims. Please contact the High Commission at +64210440188 or mwwellington@kln,gov.my for assistance if you or your family/friends are affected by the incident.”
Attempts have been made to contact the High Commissioner Nur Izzah Wong Mee Choo.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described the incident as one of the darkest days in the country’s history.
