HAMBURG, March 16 — Malaysia has welcomed Australia’s move to restore funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he was glad that his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese decided on this in the wake of the worsening situation in Gaza.

"There has been a shift in the previous stand on demands to cease the attacks and for additional humanitarian allocations,” he told a press conference at the end of his six-day visit to Berlin and Hamburg.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said yesterday that Australia, which froze funding to UNRWA in January, would increase aid for the besieged Gaza as she expressed horror at the deteriorating humanitarian situation there.

The country followed moves by Sweden, the European Commission and Canada in reinstating funding for the agency.

During a bilateral meeting between the two leaders ahead of the Asean-Australia summit in Melbourne in early March, Anwar had urged Albanese to restore UNRWA funding in Gaza as the ‘most effective’ way to help civilians.

On calls by Indonesia’s Ambassador to Malaysia Datuk Hermono to review the memorandum of understanding (MoU) concerning formal sector workers, Anwar said there are certain mechanisms and normal processes that need to be respected.

The premier said he would ask Human Resources Minister Steven Sim to discuss the issue with his Indonesian counterpart.

"And of course, the ambassador can summit views. We have a good relationship with Indonesia, they are a very important country to us and a very close friend,” he said.

Hermono told local media in Malaysia that among the issues requiring attention is the embassy’s necessity to oversee the process of hiring workers in Malaysia. — Bernama