KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 15 — 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.
“The Turkish and Malaysian governments share a close relationship and His Excellency the 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 the 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 February 6 that claimed tens of thousands of lives, with a special plane carrying Anwar taking off at about 11.15pm from 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.
Yesterday, Anwar announced that the Malaysian government will channel RM20 million worth of humanitarian aid to Turkiye, as well as to Syria which was also affected by the same quake.
Parts of Turkey and Syria were hit by two powerful earthquakes on February 6 with a magnitude of 7.8 and 7.5 respectively. The death toll from the devastating earthquakes in Turkey exceeded 35,000 today.
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 needs to be devised by the Turkish government as it involves a large area.
He said that 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.
Yuksel added the field hospital put up by Malaysia might remain in the country for some time.
— Bernama
