Anwar to head to Turkiye on Feb 14 night

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be going to Turkiye for a one-day visit as a sign of support and solidarity with its people who were affected by the earthquake.

He said that he made the decision after a direct conversation he had with Turkiye president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"I believe that as friends, we should always be there to give our support," he told reporters after a meeting with senators in the Parliament lobby Tuesday (Feb 14).

The Prime Minister is expected to return to Malaysia on Wednesday (Feb 15) night and will be back in Parliament on Thursday (Feb 16).

"Initially, I was reluctant because the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) is already there and a (field) hospital has been set up. However, in the spirit of friendship I have decided to go there,” he said.

He said that he will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.

Earlier, during Minister’s Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat, Anwar said Erdogan had called him twice asking him to go to Turkiye.

He also revealed that Malaysia had successfully collected a total of RM20mil in humanitarian aid to help earthquake victims in Turkiye and Syria.

Anwar said the contribution included US$1mil each from the Malaysian government and the Sultan of Johor, with the remaining donations from various parties, including local companies.

"For the search and rescue (SAR) mission, we have sent two Malaysian Special Search and Rescue Teams (SMART), with another team, including the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM), to leave tonight,” he said.

He was responding to a question from Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (PN-Kuala Kangsar) who wanted to know the form of aid provided by the government to help victims of the earthquake in Turkiye and Syria.

On the cost of sending the SMART teams, Anwar said their flights were fully borne by the Turkish airline, with the government spending only about RM4mil for the purpose.

On a separate matter, Anwar said Malaysia has decided to channel aid to Syria including medical equipment and humanitarian missions regardless of US sanctions policy.

"Malaysia will still send a team to help as soon as there is a response from the Syrian government, but funding and medical equipment have been decided and the Defence Minister (Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan) wants to install hospital equipment in Syria," he added.

A large earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale hit southern Turkiye and northwestern Syria last Monday and has claimed tens of thousands of lives, with tremors also felt in Cyprus and Lebanon.

Last Tuesday, Turkiye declared a three-month state of emergency in 10 provinces namely Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa to ensure the search and rescue mission runs smoothly.