By Sofia Nasir
KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 — The state government is prepared to channel aid to the humanitarian and disaster management effort after an earthquake in Myanmar.
Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said Selangor has its Emergency Response Team (Pantas), established under local authorities.
“We have the Pantas squad, but it is more for cleanup work. If there’s a need (to send an aid team to Myanmar), we will contact Wisma Putra.
“It can also contact us, with the volunteers that we have, but for earthquake disaster management, we need expertise.
“Malah mereka juga boleh hubungi kita, sukarelawan yang kita ada. Tetapi untuk urus bencana gempa bumi, kita perlukan kepakaran.
“The Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) and the military are the experts in this field,” he said when met at Taman Keramat here yesterday.
The Foreign Ministry in a statement yesterday said Malaysia has sent a team under the National Disaster Management Agency to Myanmar for humanitarian and disaster management aid.
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit central Myanmar, northern Thailand, and southern China on Thursday.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim expressed his condolences to victims’ families over the large-scale destruction in the countries hit.
Anwar, as Asean chair, also emphasised Malaysia’s solidarity with its neighbours and stated the nation’s preparedness to support aid and recovery efforts.
