SINGAPORE, Jan 12 — Singapore stands ready to provide any further assistance to Malaysia relating to the recent floods, says the republic’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan.

"We stand ready to provide any further assistance that we can render should Malaysia require it,” he said in his written reply to a parliamentary question on the floods in Malaysia, today.

Balakrishnan was asked whether there are efforts by the Singapore government to extend any type of support to help Malaysians affected by the floods.

In his reply, he reiterated that Singapore "stands in solidarity with Malaysia during this difficult time”.

The minister informed that he had written to his counterpart, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah, in December 2021 to express condolences and offer Singapore’s assistance.

On December 22, Balakrishnan said the Singapore government also contributed US$60,000 (RM251,160) as seed money to support the Singapore Red Cross’ public fundraising to aid disaster relief and recovery efforts in Malaysia as well as the Philippines, which had been affected by Typhoon Rai.

The Singapore government’s contribution supplemented the Singapore Red Cross’ pledge of US$50,000 to the Malaysian Red Crescent, which went towards emergency healthcare and the distribution of relief supplies to evacuation centres, he added.

In December 2021 and early-January 2022, Malaysia experienced flooding in Kuala Lumpur and nine other states.

The floods in Malaysia have resulted in the loss of many lives and widespread destruction of property, causing hardship and suffering to the affected communities. — Bernama