Govt to send up to 60 medical personnel to Bangladesh to help Rohingya

KUALA LUMPUR: The government will be dispatching some 50 to 60 medical personnel to the Bangladeshi border town of Cox's Bazar to assist the thousands of Rohingya refugees currently stranded there.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said the medical group would be stationed at a government-funded field hospital expected to be set up near the Rohingya refugee camp there.
"We are ready to sent the personnel there. It will not be more than 50 to 60 people, specialised in various (medical) fields," he said.
"We will see how long they will be needed there. If they are needed for a long period, maybe we will send then in stages," he told reporters when met at the MIC Deepavali Open House celebration at Batu Caves Temple.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, during his visit to Cox's Bazar on Monday, had announced the government's intention to build a RM3.5 million field hospital there.
Hundreds of thousands of ethnic Rohingya have fled the troubled Rakhine state in Myanmar to Bangladesh following an offensive launched by the Myanmar authorities in late August.
Subramaniam said the government was still waiting for the proposal by the Bangaldesh government on the location of the hospital.
He added his ministry was ready to head there, with the cooperation from other agencies such as the Malaysian Armed Forces and the National Security Council.
"The field hospital will be able to provide complete healthcare to those in need," he said.
Meanwhile, Subramaniam said there has been an increase in confidence by the Indian community towards the government.
He added this was a result of various programmes and initiatives by the government to improve the livelihood of the group, including the announcement of the Malaysian Indian Blueprint early this year.
"This has given a new confidence to the Indians and we can see it translated into support," he said.