OFFICIAL PORTAL
PRIME MINISTER'S DEPARTMENT
NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCY
PRIME MINISTER'S DEPARTMENT
NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCY
JAKARTA: Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi akan mengadakan lawatan rasmi ke Indonesia selama tiga hari bermula esok bagi memperkukuh hubungan dua hala antara kedua-dua negara dan memperluas kerjasama serantau dalam ASEAN.
Beliau dijadual tiba di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Soekarno-Hatta pada petang Ahad sebelum menghadiri majlis makan malam bersama rakyat Malaysia di Kompleks Kedutaan Besar Malaysia di Jakarta Selatan.
Ahmad Zahid akan diiringi Menteri Pertanian dan Keterjaminan Makanan, Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu serta Wakil Tetap Malaysia ke ASEAN, Datin Sarah Al Bakri Devadason selain pegawai kanan Kementerian Luar dan Agensi Pengurusan Bencana Negara.
Duta Besar Malaysia ke Indonesia, Datuk Syed Mohamad Hasrin Tengku Hussin berkata lawatan itu merupakan kunjungan rasmi pertama pemimpin tertinggi Malaysia ke Indonesia pada tahun ini selepas pembentukan kerajaan baharu negara berkenaan.
Beliau berkata lawatan itu akan memberi tumpuan kepada pengurusan bencana, Pendidikan dan Latihan Teknikal dan Vokasional (TVET), kerjasama ekonomi, pembangunan industri halal serta keterjaminan makanan untuk memperdalam kerjasama antara kedua-dua negara.
"Lawatan ini menjadi susulan kepada kerjasama yang telah dipersetujui pemimpin kedua-dua negara sebelum ini.
"Kita harap ini akan meningkatkan lagi hubungan dua hala di antara Malaysia dan Indonesia khususnya untuk portfolio Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
"Sudah tentu bila pemimpin-pemimpin bertemu, secara amnya mereka juga akan membincangkan status hubungan dua hala serta isu serantau dan global termasuk tarif mengambil kira Malaysia sebagai Pengerusi ASEAN tahun ini," katanya pada sidang media bersama wartawan Malaysia di sini hari ini.
Pada Isnin, Ahmad Zahid dijadual bertemu Naib Presiden Indonesia, Gibran Rakabuming Raka di Istana Naib Presiden serta menyaksikan pemeteraian beberapa surat hasrat antara Universiti Kuala Lumpur dan Perkhidmatan Global Pendidikan Malaysia dengan pemerintah provinsi Jakarta serta Sumatera Barat di sebuah hotel di Jakarta Pusat.
Menteri Kemajuan Desa dan Wilayah itu turut dijadual melawat Badan Nasional Pengurusan Bencana Indonesia dan Pusat Penyelarasan Bantuan Kemanusiaan ASEAN selaras usaha berterusan memperkukuh kesiapsiagaan bencana bersama di rantau ini.
Lawatan akan diakhiri dengan majlis pelepasan ASEAN Unity Drive di kompleks kedutaan yang menampilkan kereta elektrik Proton e.MAS sebelum menghadiri sesi meja bulat bersama pemain industri Indonesia bagi meneroka peluang kerjasama dalam sektor halal.
Indonesia ialah rakan dagang ketujuh terbesar Malaysia di peringkat global dan ketiga terbesar dalam kalangan negara anggota ASEAN pada 2023.
Jumlah dagangan antara kedua-dua negara mencecah RM111.21 bilion (AS$D24.39 bilion) tahun lepas.
Bagi tempoh Januari hingga Oktober 2024, dagangan dua hala bernilai RM95.50 bilion (AS$D20.75 bilion) berbanding RM94.37 bilion (AS$D20.69 bilion) pada 2023.
– BERNAMA
KUALA LUMPUR: Dalam kesukaran yang membalut hari-hari pasukan penyelamat Malaysia di bumi bergolak Myanmar, satu detik penuh harapan menyinar apabila penemuan seorang mangsa masih hidup di celah runtuhan selepas gempa bumi kuat berukuran 7.7 skala ritcher melanda negara itu.
Bagi Pasukan Mencari dan Menyelamat Khas Malaysia (SMART), saat itu ibarat kemenangan tertinggi dalam sebuah misi kemanusiaan, umpama meraih pingat emas selepas berjuang tanpa henti sejak memulakan operasi.
Penguasa Kanan Bomba II merangkap Komander Kontinjen MAS-01 Operasi MyTeam Relief Myanmar, Mohamad Hafiezul Abdul Halim mengakui, detik itu menjadi suntikan moral yang luar biasa buat seluruh pasukannya.
“Kita ni ibarat tengah kumpul pingat perak, tiba-tiba dapat pingat emas. Sudah tentu ia mengatasi semua pencapaian sebelum ini.
“Apabila pasukan berjaya menemui mangsa yang masih hidup, kami akan mengutamakan keselamatan mangsa tersebut, memastikan segala bantuan segera diberikan,” katanya dalam temu bual khas Podcast Utama, terbitan Buletin TV3.
Beliau turut menegaskan bahawa keutamaan SMART dalam setiap operasi adalah memastikan mangsa menerima rawatan secepat mungkin, tanpa kompromi.
Namun tidak semua penemuan berakhir dengan kelegaan. Dalam satu insiden yang menyentuh hati, pasukannya menemui dua beranak yang terperangkap di sebuah kuil yang runtuh.
“Si ayah dan anaknya itu tidak sempat melarikan diri ketika bangunan kuil runtuh secara tiba-tiba dan mereka dihempap runtuhan, ditemui dalam keadaan berpelukan.
“Manakala si ibu berada di luar bangunan, menunggu dengan penuh harapan agar suami dan anaknya dapat diselamatkan,” kongsi Hafiezul.
Tragedi yang melanda Myanmar bukan sahaja menguji ketangkasan teknikal pasukan penyelamat, tetapi juga keupayaan mereka menyantuni budaya dan sensitiviti masyarakat tempatan.
Timbalan Ketua Pengarah Operasi Agensi Pengurusan Bencana Negara (NADMA), Datuk Dr Abdul Gapar Abu Bakar berkata, pasukan SMART sentiasa mengambil kira kepercayaan serta adat tempatan dalam setiap tindakan yang diambil.
“Dalam beberapa kes, misalnya kepercayaan Buddha, jika mayat tidak dapat dikeluarkan, keluarga memilih untuk melakukan pembakaran di lokasi sebagai bentuk penghormatan terakhir.
“Anggota kami perlu faham adat dan kepercayaan tempatan. Ini bukan sekadar operasi menyelamat, tetapi juga soal menghormati budaya dan hak keluarga mangsa,” katanya.
Beliau menambah, setiap penemuan mangsa yang masih hidup menjadi ‘keajaiban kecil’ yang memulihkan semangat pasukan, sekali gus memberi makna besar dalam misi kemanusiaan yang penuh cabaran ini.
Gempa yang melanda Myanmar pada 28 Mac itu mengorbankan lebih 3,700 nyawa, dengan 5,017 lagi cedera dan 130 masih hilang.
PETALING JAYA:
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he had a “frank and constructive” discussion with Myanmar’s junta leader Min Aung Hlaing today.
In a Facebook post, Anwar said their discussion touched, among others, on the importance of “returning the country to normalcy”, adding that he would also meet with representatives of the National Unity Government (NUG).
The NUG and National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) form the Myanmar government-in-exile, which was established after a 2021 military coup that sparked widespread protests and civil unrest across the country.
Civil rights groups say the junta has arrested thousands of protesters and activists since the coup, which saw its military overthrow the democratically-elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy.
The coup plunged the nation into a multi-sided civil war which has seen at least three million people displaced, according to the United Nations.
Myanmar’s military government yesterday said it would release nearly 5,000 prisoners in an amnesty to mark the country’s new year festivities, reported AFP.
“I welcome recent steps to ease tensions, including the release last night of 4,800 detainees. Such gestures are a meaningful signal,” said Anwar.
Anwar also encouraged all parties to “engage seriously” in the interest of Myanmar’s stability and the wellbeing of its people.
Asean – which Malaysia is chairing this year – wants Myanmar to implement a five-point peace plan to halt the fighting, with the ruling generals barred from attending its meetings over their failure to comply.
He said he and Min discussed the immediate deployment of a field hospital in the country after the recent earthquake.
The devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28 has claimed more than 5,300 lives and compounded the already critical humanitarian crisis in the country amid the civil war.
Yesterday, foreign minister Mohamad Hasan said the mission to deploy medical officers to Myanmar to set up a field hospital was postponed at the request of Myanmar’s authorities.
TAPAH:
Foreign minister Mohamad Hasan said the mission to deploy medical officers to Myanmar to set up a field hospital has been postponed at the request of Myanmar’s authorities.
He said the Myanmar government had requested the postponement as they were still identifying a safe and strategic location for the hospital’s operations, which was part of Malaysia’s humanitarian aid efforts following the devastating earthquake on March 28.
The team was scheduled to depart yesterday. “The area we are heading to is hostile and dangerous.
“We will be deploying many surgeons and medical teams from the armed forces’ hospital, so their safety is our priority,” he told reporters after visiting the Batu Tiga polling centre here today.
Mohamad said he had contacted his counterpart, U Than Swe, to state that Malaysia would not compromise on the safety of its citizens.
Mohamad also said the humanitarian mission was not a reflection of Malaysia’s recognition of the current Myanmar government, but was instead aimed at helping the people affected by the earthquake.
On Tuesday, defence minister Khaled Nordin said the armed forces would set up a field hospital in Myanmar, with medical teams scheduled for deployment on Wednesday (yesterday).
PETALING JAYA:
A government MP has come to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s defence after the latter was criticised by former foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah over a meeting with Myanmar’s junta leader Min Aung Hlaing scheduled for today.
Responding to Saifuddin’s remarks that the meeting in Bangkok was a “step in the wrong direction” as Malaysia had been consistent in not recognising the junta, Sungai Petani MP Taufiq Johari said Anwar chose the “path of engagement” to extend further assistance to Myanmar following the devastating earthquake last month which claimed more than 5,300 lives.
Stating that Anwar’s meeting had the backing of Asean leaders, Taufiq stressed that the prime minister’s discussions with Min should not be seen as a sign that he was endorsing the junta or its 2021 coup which ousted Myanmar’s elected government.
“It’s clear that our prime minister’s rationale for reaching out is to help the common people, not to legitimise the 2021 coup,” he said in a statement.
“This should be clear as Anwar said he would urge the Myanmar junta to extend the current ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to reach victims of the recent earthquake.
“Let’s not forget that the most important thing is to help the people of Myanmar, and that is why we are leading efforts to reach out to them, including setting up a temporary field hospital run by the Malaysian armed forces.”
Taufiq said Asean remained committed to the Five-Point Consensus as the basis for engagement with Myanmar, and that the meeting was being held purely on humanitarian grounds.
He reminded Saifuddin that thousands of Myanmar nationals were deported from Malaysia to face possibly dire consequences in their home country during his tenure as communications minister under Muhyiddin Yassin and foreign minister under Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
He also noted Saifuddin’s call for Malaysia and Asean to engage Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) and National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC), as well as the nation’s public stakeholders.
NUG and NUCC form the Myanmar government-in-exile, established after the 2021 military coup.
“I would like to emphasise that helping the people of Myanmar is not a repudiation of the government-in-exile,” said Taufiq.
“Perhaps (Saifuddin) is just trying to score political points.
“In the short-term, what is needed for the people of Myanmar is immediate assistance, not political posturing by our opposition.”
On Monday, Anwar said he would urge the Myanmar junta to extend the current ceasefire, calling it crucial to allow humanitarian aid to reach victims of the recent earthquake.
Putrajaya, which has channelled RM10 million in humanitarian aid to Myanmar, also sent a team to the country for a search and rescue mission.