Myanmar food mission returns home

KLANG: The Myanmar Food Flotilla arrived home after an arduous three week-long journey to deliver humanitarian aid to Rohingya refugees.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein greeted the group of volunteers upon their return and hailed them as unsung heroes who are the voices of reason.
"When we are faced with violent conflict, the best way to respond is to show humanitarian values. This is what we're doing here, and it is way better than taking up arms in retaliation," Hishammuddin said after the welcoming ceremony at the Boustead Cruise Centre here.
He said the flotilla, comprised of the ship Natutical Aliyah and a barge filled with food supplies, also gave a positive image of Islam to the world.
Hishammuddin said this is especially important during a time of global turmoil where Islam's reputation is continuously tarnished by terrorist organisations such as the Islamic State (IS).
He hopes that humanitarian efforts to aid Rohingya refugees will continue and said the successful mission had proven cynics both at home and abroad to be wrong.
The flotilla carrying 2,300 tonnes of food left Malaysia on Feb 3 and arrived at Thilawa Port, Yangon on Feb 9 where 500 tonnes of cargo was unloaded.
They then sailed to Bangladesh where the rest of the cargo was unloaded for refugee camps housing as many as 200,000, including 70,000 whom fled Myanmar recently.
The flotilla also broke the Malaysian Book of Records for the most amount of humanitarian aid delivered in a single mission and involves 30 NGOs from 12 Asean countries with an additional one from France.
Meanwhile, mission leader and 1Malaysia Putera Club president Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim said they will start gathering funds to construct tube wells so refugees will have access to clean water.
Abdul Azeez said he will be approaching all 222 MPs in Parliament to gather enough funds for 1,000 tube wells.
He added that refugees lack any proper toilets and he aims to supply 10,000 portable lavatories with the help of BN component parties.