Anwar Is Flying To Turkiye Tonight To Extend Moral Support To Earthquake Victims
This comes after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim received an invitation from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who expressed gratitude for Malaysia's prompt delivery of aid.
By Sadho Ram — 14 Feb 2023, 01:10 PM
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is leaving for Turkiye tonight, 14 February, to extend moral support to the people in the country
Turkiye, along with Syria, was hit by a massive earthquake on 6 February.
As of now, more than 37,000 deaths have been reported and over 94,000 people have been injured. Of the reported death toll, more than 31,000 were reported in Turkiye, while 5,710 deaths were reported in Syria.
Anwar received an invitation from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who expressed gratitude for Malaysia's delivery of aid
Anwar, who was speaking during the Minister's Question Time session in Dewan Rakyat today, said the cost of sending the Malaysian Special Search and Rescue Team (SMART) to Turkiye so far is RM4 million.
He added that a Turkish airline bore the cost of the flight.
"I was asked by the president personally if I can go there immediately to give moral support and I have considered leaving tonight as several other countries have arrived as well," he told the Dewan Rakyat.
Anwar shared that the government has collected RM20 million funds to be used in humanitarian aid missions in Turkiye and Syria
"This includes USD1 million (RM4.3 million) contributed by the federal government and another USD1 million (RM4.3 million) from Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar," Anwar said while answering a question from Perikatan Nasional's (PN) Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid, who is the Kuala Kangsar member of parliament (MP).
