M'sia Is Prepared To Send Peacekeepers On Humanitarian Mission to Iraq

By Ahmad Fuad Yahya JAKARTA, March 23 (Bernama) -- Defence Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Thursday that Malaysia is prepared to send a special peacekeeping team on a humanitarian mission to Iraq if the costs of operation were to be sponsored by other countries. He said the team, however, would differ from the conventional peacekeeping team under the United Nations' (UN) resolution as it would be involved in offering basic assistance needed by the people in Iraq including educational and medical aid. "There's a request for Malaysia to send a team to Iraq and one particular country had also agreed to bear the costs of operation, but since the country has yet to keep its promise, we cannot send the team to Iraq," he said when met here on Thursday. Ahmad Zahid is attending the Jakarta International Defence Dialogue (JIDD) 2012 at the Jakarta Convention Centre here. Commenting further, the minister said the cost for sending a peacekeeping team on a humanitarian mission to a conflict stricken country would reach about AS$30 million a year. Ahmad Zahid said the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) was capable to send even two battalions on humanitarian missions to conflict stricken countries without affecting domestic needs. "Sending a peacekeeping team abroad will not cause us any problem because we have an optimum level of preparedness," he said. Both Malaysia and ATM have a very good reputation in humanitarian and peacekeeping missions and since Congo in 1960s, a total of 25,000 ATM personnel had participated in such missions in 25 countries, he said. Malaysian peacekeepers in Lebanon, for example, were recognised as the best peacekeeping team because despite being a conventional team, the members also managed to discharge their social responsibilities like building schools and hospitals, he added. -- BERNAMA