Turkiye-Syria quake: PM Anwar touched by Malaysians' concern, contributions

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he was very touched by the concern shown by Malaysians on the fate of earthquake victims in Syria and Turkiye which saw 42 tonnes of humanitarian assistance sent on Saturday (Feb 18).

According to him, the aid to Damascus, Syria was sent via two A400M aircraft of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) which is the result of the cooperation by the government, non-governmental organisations and people.

"I pray the humanitarian assistance mission to Syria by a team of Malaysian volunteers would be blessed,” he said in a Facebook post on Sunday (Feb 19).

The humanitarian aid delivery mission, the first to Syria since the country and Turkiye were hit by an earthquake on Feb 6 left at about 10.15 pm last night from Subang RMAF base with 51 crew including representatives of ministries and NGOs.

The death toll of the earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale which shook south Turkiye and northwest Syria has exceeded 45,000 victims.

Meanwhile, according to the Prime Minister in an interview with Turkiye Radio and Television Department (TRT) in Ankara during his visit to the country on Wednesday, Malaysia had sent three humanitarian assistance mission teams to the country so far.

‘There have been...an outpouring of grief and sympathy throughout the country, its amazing.

"When we initially started raising funds, we managed to secure 10 million dollars in just a matter of days, a feat for a small and developing country, I think this is something extraordinary, and it means Turkiye has a special place in our hearts,” he was quoted as saying in the interview.

The video of the interview was also shared on Anwar’s official Facebook account.- Bernama