China, US Provide Tents, Medicines For Malaysian Flood Victims

KLUANG (Johor, Malaysia), Jan 10 (Bernama) -- The governments of China and the US will channel aid in the form of tents and medicines for use by flood victims in this country, especially in the east coast. Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the Chinese government was prepared to contribute 1,600 tents to provide temporary shelter to the flood victims especially those who had lost their homes. "The United States government, meanwhile, has offered medical aid for use in the field hospitals of the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) located in Manek Urai, Kuala Krai, Kelantan and to the medical team assisting in other flood-affected areas," he told reporters here Saturday. Hishammuddin, who is also an Umno vice-president, said the 12-metre by 36-metre tents were expected to arrive in this country early next week in two aircraft belonging to the Chinese military. Meanwhile, for the medical aid from the US government, officials from the ATM Health Services Division and officials from the Health Ministry were communicating with the US Embassy to determine the requirements. In another development, the minister called on everyone not to polemicize the incident on a Malaysian-owned fishing boat, which was sunk down by the Indonesian authorities, in order to maintain relations between the two nations. Hishammuddin said he believed the agency related to the incident had already carried out an investigation on the matter and would be presenting it to the cabinet or National Security Council. "The Defence Ministry has yet to receive a detailed report on the matter. Although we should not create polemics, this does not mean we will brush aside or ignore the position on our rights and security," he said. The Foreign Affairs Ministry on Saturday oday confirmed that a fishing boat belonging to Malaysia with the registration number PFKA 7738 was sunk by the Indonesian authorities for catching fish illegally in Indionesian waters two days ago. Hishammuddin pointed out that it was most important for Malaysia to preserve cordial relations with the Asean nations as Malaysia was the Asean Chairman this year. -- BERNAMA