Malaysia contributes RM500,000 to quake victims in Sulawesi

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will be presenting a contribution of RM500,000 to the victims of the 7.5 magnitude earthquake and tsunami in Palu, Sulawesi, Indonesia last Friday in which more than 800 people lost their lives and thousands more rendered homeless

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said the matter was decided after speaking to Indonesian Deputy President Jusuf Kalla by phone yesterday.

“Indonesia is open to accept any contributions and assistance, so we are sending our SMART team who are trained in search and rescue work as we have to race against time to find more survivors.

“We are also giving a contribution of RM500,000 to assist those struck by the disaster,” she said at a press conference after handing over the Jalur Gemilang to the national paralympic contingent to compete in the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Dr Wan Azizah said all assistances from Mercy Malaysia and other non-governmental organisations (NGO) are being coordinated with Indonesia as well as Indonesian Red Cross to facilitate delivery.

She also admitted that there were delays in sending assistance to the victims in Makassar where most of them are sheltered.

Earlier in her speech at the Jalur Gemilang handover ceremony, Wan Azizah was confident the national contingent to the Asian Para Games would bring back more gold medals compared to their achievements in Incheon, South Korea in 2014.

She also expressed her confidence these exceptional athletes would take the country’s sports to a higher level at the championship.