Nepal only accepting goods, not rescue personnel, says Khaled

 The defence minister says the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team is ready to be deployed if Nepal changes its position.

Defence minister Khaled Nordin said Nepal’s decision to only accept aid in the form of goods was likely aimed at avoiding coordination problems involving multiple foreign rescue teams. (AFP pic)

PETALING JAYA:

Nepal has said it will only accept aid in the form of goods, rather than foreign rescue personnel, following the floods and landslides that struck Rasuwa district close to the border with Tibet on Aug 26, says defence minister Khaled Nordin.

Khaled said Nepal’s position was likely aimed at avoiding coordination problems on the ground as it could involve many foreign teams, Utusan Malaysia reported.

“Our Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) is ready to be deployed at any time,” he was quoted as saying after an event with the Reserve Officer Training Unit (Palapes) at Universiti Malaysia Perlis.

“Nepal has already said it does not want rescue teams. Perhaps if too many teams are sent, it could become chaotic.”

“However, there is nothing to stop us from sending goods that may be needed.”

Khaled was responding to a question on whether the government would mobilise Malaysian Armed Forces assets to help locate Malaysians still missing following the disaster.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had announced that Malaysia would deploy SMART to Nepal.

The disaster initially left 132 Malaysians unaccounted for. Of these, 77 have since been located and will be brought to Kathmandu to facilitate their return to Malaysia, while 55 remain missing.

Nepal had initially declined offers from foreign search-and-rescue teams, saying its own rescuers were capable of handling the operations. It subsequently reversed that decision following diplomatic pressure. - FMT