PART OF AAKRP COLLECTION TO BE USED FOR PALESTINIAN STUDENTS IN MALAYSIA - DPM

SEPANG, Nov 3 (Bernama) -- Part of the Humanitarian Trust Fund for the People of Palestine (AAKRP) will be used for Palestinian students in Malaysia, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

He said the matter was agreed at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in Putrajaya today.

"The Prime Minister, at the Cabinet meeting earlier, agreed to use part of the collection made by the Malaysian government and Foreign Ministry for Palestinian students in the country.

"This is to finance part of their living costs, study costs and some other costs involved,” he told reporters after witnessing the delivery of the Ops Ihsan humanitarian aid at the cargo terminal of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) here today.

The AAKRP was established following the current conflict of violence and fighting in the Gaza Strip, with the government having initially contributed RM10 million to the fund.

On Oct 19, Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said that the collection of the AAKRP, managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had reached RM81 million, close to the targeted RM100 million.

Ahmad Zahid said the decision to give part of the AAKRP collection to Palestinian students was made because they did not get funding from their families due to the conflict.

"(There is) funding from parents that do not reach (them)... either the family is not there due to the bombing or because the system of sending (money) is cut off," he said.

He has requested the Palestinian Ambassador to Malaysia Walid Abu Ali to submit a full list of Palestinian students in the country to enable the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take action to channel aid.

Meanwhile, Walid also expressed appreciation and gratitude to Malaysians who are willing to help provide humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people.

The recent clashes in Palestine involving Hamas, the ruling authority in Gaza, and the Israeli regime have resulted in the loss of thousands of lives on both sides since Oct 7.

-- BERNAMA