Dear “Sceptical Malaysian”,

You asked ten questions in the name of accountability.

Fair enough.

But fairness also means knowing the facts before you accuse.

So let’s go through them one by one.

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𝐐𝟏: 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐬𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧? 𝐘𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨. 𝐍𝐨 𝐞𝐮𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐬.


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𝐐𝟐: 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰, 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬? 𝐄𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐨, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐢𝐭.



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𝐐𝟑: 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩? 𝐀 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐀𝐩𝐩 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩, 𝐚𝐧 𝐍𝐆𝐎, 𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥?



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𝐐𝟒: 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐆𝐚𝐳𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐝?



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𝐐𝟓: 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨? 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞?


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𝐐𝟔: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬? 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐝𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠? 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐬? 𝐇𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬??



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𝐐𝟕: 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝? 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐭?



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𝐐𝟖: 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲?


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𝐐𝟗: 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐦. 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝?


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𝐐𝟏𝟎: 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬? 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐝?


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To the "Sceptical Malaysian"

You are right about one thing.

Malaysians have a right to know whether this was a sincere humanitarian effort or awell-orchestrated show.

Scepticism is fair, but only if it comes with curiosity, not cynicism.

It is easy to call it naïve if you did not know what you were looking at. Because the truth is, this was never a small local mission.

It was part of a global humanitarian network that has existed for over a decade, spanning forty countries and thirty-eight flotillas.

Doctors, journalists, lawmakers, and faith leaders have sailed before and some never made it back.

So if you thought these Malaysians acted alone or stumbled into politics by accident, that misunderstanding is understandable.

We live in a time where activism is often performative, so genuine courage looks unfamiliar. But ignorance of history does not make those who act naïve(as what you have written).

There was no hidden script, no media choreography, no profit to be made.

The accounts were published, the NGOs registered, the cargo documented.
If sincerity is proven by sacrifice, then these people have already given enough.

So yes, Malaysians have a right to ask.

And they have been answered not through press conferences, but through 48 hours of captivity, through calm faces behind metal bars, through voices that refused to break even when the world doubted them.

Call it naïve if you wish, but remember this: the only reason it looks naïve is because faith in humanity has become rare enough to look unrealistic.

And let’s flip the Question

Instead of asking who paid for the boat,
ask why aid to Gaza still needs boats in 2025.

Instead of mocking those who sailed,
ask why armed soldiers board civilian vessels in open sea.

Instead of doubting their sincerity,
ask why our silence always sounds louder than their courage.

You wanted accountability. Fair.

But accountability cuts both ways, between those who act and those who scoff from safety.

Maybe the real awkward question is not for them at all.

Maybe it is for us. Yes You and Me.

When did compassion become something we had to apologise for?

Signed,
A Malaysian Who Still Believes in Humanity
FB: Khairul Azri