KUWAIT CITY, Jan 15 — Malaysia today pledged US$500,000 (RM1.64 million) at the Second International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria to meet the urgent humanitarian needs inside and outside Syria.
In a three-minute pledge announcement here, the Foreign Ministry’s deputy secretary-general for Multilateral Affairs, Datuk Ho May Yong, announced the Malaysian government’s pledge to help the 11.6 million Syrians facing a humanitarian crisis inside the country and in neighbouring nations.
“In support of efforts to address the critical humanitarian needs of the Syrian people, Malaysia is pleased to pledge a contribution of US$500,000 to help alleviate the sufferings of the people of Syria,” she said.
“We hope our collective efforts today would bring a ray of hope to the Syrian people and send a clear message to parties to the conflict to resolve their differences and seek peaceful reconciliation for the sake of the Syrian people,” she said.
In a statement, Ho said Malaysia was greatly saddened at the increasing number of Syrians who were forced to flee their homes due to the escalating crisis and violence in Syria.
She noted that the violence in Syria continued unabated, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Syrians with thousands more injured and displaced, forcing them to seek refuge in neighbouring countries, namely Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.
Addressing Malaysia’s concern at the scale of the humanitarian crisis and its negative impact on the region, she said Malaysia urged all parties to the conflict to work towards a peaceful solution and appeal to all sides to stop the senseless bloodshed.
“Malaysia remains hopeful that peace can be restored in Syria and urge all parties involved to work in the greater interest of the Syrian people,” she added.
Meanwhile, the second pledging conference saw the host country, Kuwait, as the biggest contributor as at 5pm (10pm Malaysian time) Wednesday, pledging US$500 million, followed by the US with US$380 million.
Arab nations have so far garnered US$133 million with Saudi Arabia and Qatar pledging US$60 million each followed by Iraq with US$13 million.
The one-day conference saw 69 countries and more than 24 regional organisations taking part to raise financial support for the Syrians.
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) spokesman, Jens Laerke, said the situation in Syria had worsened.
“Currently, there are some 9.3 million people in Syria who are in need of humanitarian aid while 2.3 million have become refugees in the neighbouring countries,” he said. — Bernama
