PUTRAJAYA, Feb 14 — The Malaysian government has established a special team to get a real picture and make an assessment regarding the form of humanitarian aid needed in Syria, which was also hit by the earthquake disaster.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Wisma Putra) in a statement today said the team will build a communication network with the authorities in Syria to assess a safe route for humanitarian aid delivery missions.

"The reconnaissance team is led by the Deputy Secretary General of Bilateral Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and is joined by representatives from NADMA (National Disaster Management Agency), the Ministry of Health, the Royal Malaysia Police, the Malaysian Armed Forces, and also representatives of the Red Crescent Society and MERCY Malaysia,” read the statement.

According to the statement, the establishment of the team was a follow-up to the discussion held between the Secretariat for the distribution of humanitarian aid to Syria, managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Syrian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, on Monday.

Critical and essential basic needs of the earthquake victims in Syria include food supplies (ready-to-eat food packs, snack packs, formula milk), medicine, and medical equipment, including emergency aid kits.

On February 6, two strong earthquakes hit the south and southeast of Turkey, as well as the northwest of Syria, where the recorded number of casualties in the two countries exceeded 35,000 people with tens of thousands more injured.

The first earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, struck at 4.17am (01.17 GMT) and was centred in the Pazarcik district of Kahramanmaras province. Less than 12 hours later, a magnitude 7.6 quake hit the same area.

Taking into account the possibility of aftershocks, Malaysians who are currently in Turkey, Syria, and nearby countries are advised to continue to take precautionary measures, keep up to date with the latest developments, and adhere to the advice issued by local authorities from time to time.

Members of the public wishing to contribute to the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria can do so through the Disaster Fund of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (TBKLN) which is supervised by the ministry, at account number 1054 9000 0599 (Affin Islamic Bank Berhad, Putrajaya Branch).

Contributions made are eligible for income tax exemption under Subsection 44(6) of the Income Tax Act (ACP) 1967.

For the purpose of record keeping and issuance of receipts, donors are requested to provide donation details via the link https://tinyurl.com/yck9tnen. For inquiries, email the TBKLN Secretariat at tbkln@kln.gov.my. — Bernama