M’sia donates US$100,000 in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan

KUALA LUMPUR – The government has already donated US$100,000 (RM238,106) through the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and related parties as humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.

Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Kamarudin Jaffar said apart from contributions from the government, Malaysians had also contributed more than RM1 million to Afghanistan through various humanitarian missions by various non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

“The latest donation is through various NGOs that left for Afghanistan yesterday, bringing US$50,000 dollars (RM119,053) to buy various necessities and clothing there.

“The government is also still in negotiations to donate 1.6 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine to Afghanistan,” he told the Dewan Rakyat today.

Kamarudin (Bandar Tun Razak-Bersatu) said this when answering an additional question from Fahmi Fadzil (Lembah Pantai-PH), who wanted to know the value of the government’s contribution to Afghanistan.

Kamarudin added that the government has also liaised with the Afghan embassy here to assist in ensuring smooth operations in the country.

He said Malaysia’s humanitarian mission to Afghanistan was not to recognise the government there at this time, but only to ensure that the Afghan economy did not collapse completely.

“All OIC countries have agreed to help Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis to ensure that the country’s economy is not affected.

“The OIC has also stressed that Afghanistan’s interim government protects the rights of the people and the well-being of women and children.”

Kamarudin said he would also represent the government in the meeting involving foreign ministers of OIC countries on March 22 and 23, to discuss the latest developments in Afghanistan.

“We expect there will be new developments after this meeting.”

Earlier, Afghanistan was in turmoil when the Taliban regime overthrew the elected government led by Mohammad Ashraf Ghani in August, following the withdrawal of US troops from the country after 20 years of occupation. – The Vibes, March 16, 2022