Anwar's visit to quake-hit Turkiye shows support, motivation for Malaysian rescue teams, says ambassador

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to Turkiye not only reflects his solidarity in standing together with the Turkish people who were affected by a devastating earthquake, but also his sincere support and motivation for the Malaysian rescue teams working on the disaster site.

Turkish ambassador to Malaysia, Emir Salim Yuksel, in expressing his appreciation and gratitude to Anwar and Malaysians for their solidarity and altruism towards quake victims in his country said the visit clearly showed the Malaysian premier understood the magnitude of the problem faced by the Turkish people during these trying times.

"Turkiye and Malaysian governments share close relationship and His Excellency Malaysian Prime Minister (Anwar) is a close friend of our president (Recep Tayyip Erdogan).

"He (Anwar) decided to take this step to see for himself the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) working at the disaster site as well. So it is (standing in solidarity) with us and Malaysian team...it is a good initiative,” he told Bernama after appearing as a guest in Bernama TV’s ‘The Brief’ programme entitled ‘Türkiye Quake and Global Relief Efforts’ at Wisma Bernama here.

Anwar left for Turkiye last night to provide moral support to Erdogan and the Turkish people who were affected by the quake on Feb 6 that claimed tens of thousands of lives, with a special plane carrying Anwar taking off at about 11.15pm from at KLIA.

The Malaysian premier decided to make the visit at the request of Erdogan.

Malaysia has sent two SMART teams, including two tracker dogs (K9), as well as helping to set up a field hospital run by the armed forces to provide medical services to earthquake victims in Turkiye.

On Tuesday (Feb 14), Anwar announced that the Malaysian Government would channel RM20mil worth of humanitarian aid to Turkiye, and Syria which was also affected by the same quake.

Parts of Turkey and Syria were hit by two powerful earthquakes on Feb 6 with a magnitude of 7.8 and 7.5 respectively. The death toll from the devastating earthquakes in Turkey exceeded 35,000 so far.

On the role Malaysia can play in helping to rebuild and redevelop parts of Turkiye which were affected by the quake, Yuksel said a reconstruction plan need to be devised by the Turkish government as it involves a large area.

He said based on the information he received, a central construction company in Turkiye for public buildings is expected to complete within a year the reconstruction of buildings which collapsed during the quake.

He also said that the field hospital put up by Malaysia might remain in the country for some time.

Meanwhile, Malaysians who wish to donate in support of the search and rescue operations in Turkiye can do so through the Turkiye embassy's official account number at:

CIMB Bank

Account no: 8008447369

Account Name: Embassy of the Republic of Turkiye.- Bernama