This aerial view shows collapsed buildings during the ongoing rescue operation in Kahramanmaras, the epicentre of the first 7.8-magnitude earthquake seven days ago, in southeastern Turkey. -Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is considering flying directly to Turkiye on Tuesday (Feb 14) night in a show of moral support for the earthquake victims there, the Dewan Rakyat was told.
The Prime Minister said he received two phone calls from Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had expressed his gratitude for the swift assistance and efforts and at the same time asked for further cooperation from Malaysia.
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"I was asked personally by the Turkiye President whether I can give my moral support and I am considering flying to Turkiye tonight to (add to) our support as some of our leaders are already there.
"And the President had asked if I could go there personally as well," he said on Tuesday morning.
Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (PN-Kuala Kangsar) asked about the earthquake assistance provided by Malaysia during Prime Minister's Question Time.
ALSO READ: Malaysia to set up another field hospital in Turkiye, says army chief
According to Anwar, the government had allocated a total of RM20mil to assist the earthquake victims, including US$1mil from the Federal Government and US$1mil from the Sultan of Johor.
He also revealed that a total of RM4mil was spent to deploy the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART).
"The cost for our SMART team has been greatly reduced as the travel expenses were fully borne by Turkish airlines.
"We have deployed two teams and will be sending another one tonight, as well as an Armed Forces team that will provide humanitarian assistance. (We are also providing) hospital facilities that have been set up and are operational," he added.
ALSO READ: Roundup: Death toll tops 31,000 one week after Türkiye's quakes
An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, which hit southern Turkiye and north-western Syria on Monday (Feb 6), has claimed thousands of lives.
Its effects were also reportedly felt in Cyprus and Lebanon.
