Malay Mail (Used by permission)
KUALA
LUMPUR, Jan 8 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak joined other world
leaders today in condemning the terror attack on French satirical
magazine Charlie Hebdo that killed 12 people.
In
a posting on his Twitter account this afternoon, Najib said Malaysia, a
Muslim-majority country, stands in unity with France after yesterday’s
attack at the publication’s Paris office that has led to vigils around
the world.
“Msia
condemns in the strongest terms all acts of violence. We stand in unity
with the French people. We must fight extremism with moderation,” Najib
tweeted.
Putrajaya said in a statement later that Malaysia “strongly condemns” the shootings.
“Nothing
justifies taking innocent lives. Malaysia is united with the families
of the victims, the government of France, and the French people,” said
Putrajaya.
Elsewhere across the world, other leaders have similarly condemned the brutal murders.
Singapore’s
Straits Times quoted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as saying: “This
incident is another painful reminder that all countries face a common
threat from terrorism. We support the French Government’s efforts to
bring the perpetrators to justice”.
US
president Barack Obama was reported by BBC News as condemning the
“horrific shooting” and offering to provide any assistance needed to
“help bring these terrorists to justice”.
UK
daily the Guardian quoted Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop as
saying that the killings at Charlie Hebdo appeared to be an “attack on
freedom of the press, freedom of ideas, however controversial”.
French President Francois Hollande described the shootings as a terrorist attack of “exceptional barbarity”.
UK’s
BBC News quoted United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon as saying:
“It was a horrendous, unjustifiable and cold-blooded crime. It was also
a direct assault on a cornerstone of democracy, on the media and on
freedom of expression”.
US
news network CNN reported today Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins as
saying that the gunmen had said they were avenging Prophet Muhammad and
had shouted “Allahu akbar” (God is great).
Charlie
Hebdo, which satirises Islam and other religions, has printed a stream
of controversial cartoons of Prophet Muhammad. Depictions of the prophet
are prohibited in Islam.
US
paper the Washington Post reported that Charlie Hebdo’s headquarters
were firebombed in 2011 after the satirical weekly depicted Prophet
Muhammad on its cover saying: “100 lashes if you are not dying of
laughter”.
Media
reports said an 18-year-old suspect has surrendered to the police,
while the two other alleged gunmen are still on the loose.
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