Malaysia to set up relief centre and hospital in Aceh
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia will be setting up a relief centre and a 50-bed hospital to cater to injured victims in the tsunami-devastated region of Aceh.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said efforts were underway to identify the best site for the centre while the hospital plan was expected to be operational over the next few days.
He said the National Security Division with the help of the Indonesian authority was actively looking into the matter to facilitate Malaysian relief efforts in the region.
Najib said this to reporters after receiving a total of RM2.65mil donations in cash and kind for the National Tsunami Fund and meeting US military commander in the Asia-Pacific region, Admiral Thomas Fargo, at his office yesterday.
Najib said two more Malaysian ships were also expected to leave for Aceh on Jan 23 and Jan 28 with additional relief materials.
The donations include two 44-seater buses costing RM1mil donated by Man Truck and Bus (M) Bhd, RM500,000 from Rukun Tetangga, three million bottles of mineral water from Umno Youth and Aman Malaysia, RM380,000 from Pure Love True Family Malaysia for World Peace and RM200,000 each from Takala Corporation and Western Digital (M) Sdn Bhd.
On his meeting with Fargo, Najib said the admiral had expressed the US government’s appreciation to Malaysia for allowing the use of airspace and the Langkawi airport for their relief workers in Aceh.
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Datuk Seri Najib receiving the contribution of bottled water for tsunami victims in Aceh from Umno Youth chief Datuk Hishamuddin. |
“He informed me that the US force strength there will be reduced once relief agencies of the United Nations take over the rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts there by the end of February.
“He also told me that Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had clarified that there was no directive for foreign forces to pull out of Aceh within three months as reported earlier,” he added.
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