South Korea Contributes US$100,000 For Malaysian Flood Relief Ops

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 (Bernama) -- South Korea Tuesday contributed US$100,000 (RM360,029) towards the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) humanitarian response to the recent floods in Malaysia, the IFRC said. Minister and Consul General/Deputy Chief of Mission of the South Korean Embassy in Malaysia, Yoon Changyul, handed over a letter of intent on the aid to the IFRC head of operations for Asia Pacific, Martin Faller, in a ceremony at the IFRC office here, it said in a statement. The fund will be used to support relief operations undertaken by the Malaysian Red Crescent Society (MRCS), including immediate dispatch of a water purification unit to provide clean drinking water to residents of Kampung Pasir Tumboh in Kelantan, the IFRC said. It said that non-food relief items will also be released from the IFRC regional warehouse in Klang (in Selangor state) to meet humanitarian needs in communities that were previously inaccessible due to the flooding. During the first weeks of January this year, the MRCS dispatched 120 tonnes of relief items to communities in three states, namely Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang, which included 10,000 blankets, the IFRC said. Since the onset of the flooding, the IFRC Asia Pacific Zone office here has been working closely with the MRCS by providing technical support during the emergency relief phase of the response as well as facilitating emergency funding via its Disaster Response Emergency Fund. -- BERNAMA