Transcript of Senior Minister of State for Defence Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman's Doorstop In Bangladesh

Singapore offers our deepest condolences to all those affected by the humanitarian crisis in the Rakhine State. The conflict in the Northern Rakhine State has affected many lives. Many lives were lost, homes were destroyed and many people were displaced. The Singapore government has earlier offered humanitarian assistance, about $300,000 to both Bangladesh and Myanmar and we hope that this would contribute to the relief efforts to help those communities affected on both sides of the border. Today we see the Republic of Singapore Air Forces (RSAF)'s air lifting supplies worth about $270,000 to Bangladesh. This is the work and effort together between MINDEF/SAF and Mercy Relief, and the supplies that we are bringing today is based on the feedback given by the Bangladesh government on what is needed on the ground. We hope this will alleviate some of the conditions of some of the people who are currently in Cox's Bazar. 

At the same time, the SAF is not just packing the supplies, but the SAF's Changi Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Coordination Centre continues to coordinate efforts between different countries and non-governmental organisations who are interested to contribute to these relief efforts. I would hope more would come forward to help them. At the same time, Singaporeans are also equally concerned with what they see is happening. We saw many community groups coming forward. We see, for example, the Rahmatan Lil Alamin (Foundation) working together in early September to raise funds for the community, and they have raised about $300,000 to support the refugees who are affected by the current crisis. They will be working with the UN High Commission for Refugees to distribute the funds to the affected communities. We hope that the situation in Bangladesh will ease off and the situation will improve over time.

More Resources

The SAF Sends Humanitarian Aid to Bangladesh