Aid sent to Gaza must be needs-based, says Anwar

CAIRO: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim advises volunteer teams and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from Malaysia who wish to provide aid to the victims of the conflict in Gaza to ensure their assistance is needs-based.

The Prime Minister acknowledged that the intentions of these NGOs and volunteer teams were good, but he emphasised the importance of consultations with the relevant authorities before delivering aid to ensure it truly benefited the victims.

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“Don’t purchase based on our preferences; this is the issue with the organisations that send aid. Their intentions are good, but sometimes, what is purchased is not what the people need. We need to hear from the people of Gaza themselves what they want.

“In the case of medicine, there are several types, and they must be properly labelled… Therefore, there are several methods that must be followed.

“The same goes for food, they have no cooking facilities, so they need ready-to-eat food in cans, some have also informed us that they do not consume instant noodles.

“So, in this matter, don’t purchase until we know (what the people of Gaza need),” he told BK during a press conference at the end of his two-day working visit to Egypt on Monday (Oct 23).

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Meanwhile, in a Facebook post Monday, Anwar also said that he had met with Egyptian Red Crescent CEO Dr Rami Al-Nazer, where he was briefed on the humanitarian aid operation at the Egypt-Palestine border in Rafah/

“We discussed the main needs and the best methods of distributing aid from the Malaysian people and government through Egypt to Gaza.

“Insya-Allah, the government will try to utilise all resources and networks to ensure aid reaches directly into Gaza,” he said in his post.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, Malaysian ambassador to Egypt Zamani Ismail and Mercy Malaysia executive council member Datin Azura Ibrahim were also present at the meeting.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister reminded organisations that were not registered, non-transparent and with improper accounts not to collect donations for charitable purposes as the victims there would not be able to receive the aid.

Regarding clothing assistance, Anwar said the Malaysian government would fly the aid to Egypt before it is handed over to the Red Crescent Society to be sent to Gaza.

“I mentioned to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi earlier, we (Malaysia) asked for the permission of the Egyptian government and he has acknowledged to speed up the approval, ” he said.

Regarding his visit to Riyadh, Turkiye and Egypt, Anwar said a lot of recognition was given to Malaysia including from the media. – BK