MERSING: The government is prepared to send aid to Myanmar if the military junta there asks for it, said Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

"I have not been informed of any requests. Maybe the Foreign Ministry has, but we are usually prepared to help out in any way we can," the deputy prime minister said after accompanying the Sultan of Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah to Camp Iskandar here.

The Malaysian Red Crescent Society (MRCS) announced that it would send 10 members of its Regional Disaster Response team to join 30 other members from around the region.

MRCS deputy chairman Hisham Harun Hashim made an appeal to the public to help fund the 10-member team, saying that RM500,000 was needed to buy necessary items such as hygiene kits, kitchen kits, mosquito nets, blankets and sleeping mats.

Team leader D. Sivalingam said the team was all set to leave tomorrow, having had all necessary precautions observed.
Sivalingam is no stranger to disaster-prone areas, having previously served as a rescue worker in the Philippines and Aceh.

The public can address their cheques to MRCS International Relief Fund, 32 Jalan Nipah, Off Jalan Ampang, 55000 Kuala Lumpur, or can deposit the funds into its Maybank account (A/C No: 5144 2210 2657). Donors will receive receipts for tax exemption.

In a related development, a Malaysia-based Myanmar human rights group has called for the international community to provide aid to the country despite its ruling junta's abysmal human rights record.

The Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organisation Malaysia appealed to Asean nations as well as international communities to visit and render aid to the victims of cyclone Nargis, regardless of the human rights violations committed by the junta.

Its president, Zafar Ahmad, also asked for aid to be disbursed directly to the victims by foreign aid workers.