Malaysia will contribute US$1 million to Nepal’s disaster relief efforts and deploy its Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) to assist search and rescue operations following devastating floods and landslides.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the National Security Council (MKN) and National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA), in coordination with the Foreign Ministry, have been tasked with liaising with the Nepalese government to facilitate the team’s deployment as soon as possible.
The team will also be tasked with locating and repatriating Malaysians affected by the disaster, while supporting the Malaysian Embassy in Nepal in coordinating assistance and safeguarding their safety and welfare, Anwar said in a statement today.
The US$1 million contribution will be channelled towards assisting affected communities and supporting Nepal’s post-disaster recovery efforts.
The move comes as 55 Malaysians remain unreachable following flash floods and landslides that struck Nepal’s Rasuwa District on Aug 26, according to the Foreign Ministry’s latest update yesterday.
The disaster has devastated areas along the Nepal-Tibet border, with international media reporting at least 675 deaths and large-scale search and rescue operations still underway.
