Nautical Aliya Continues On To Chittagong Friday

YANGON (Myanmar), Feb 10 (Bernama) -- With the first phase of the humanitarian mission 'Food Flotilla for Myanmar' over, the vessel 'Nautical Aliya' set sail for Chittagong, Bangladesh on Friday. Head of the mission Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim said the vessel left Yangon, Myanmar at 1.45pm (Malaysian time) after part of its cargo had been unloaded. Abdul Azeez said the journey to Chittagong would take three days and the vessel was expected to arrive there on Monday (Feb 13) but this was subject to sea conditions. "We hope that all Malaysians will pray for our safety so that we can hand over the remainder of the supplies to the Rohingya community. "We also hope the Bangladesh government will cooperate to ensure the mission is a success," he told reporters here Friday. Commenting on the protest held by a group of Myanmar citizens in Yangon on Thursday, he said this was an isolated case, and the efforts of the Myanmar government to help ensure the success of the mission should be appreciated. "We saw ourselves the Myanmar Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Dr Win Myat Aye waiting for more than two hours for our arrival. "The protest is only an isolated case and the public need not worry because everything is going along well without any hindrance," he said. Abdul Azeez said the Myanmar government would help ensure that the 500 metric tonnes of supplies sent there would be given to the Rohingya community in Rakhine. "It (the Myanmar government) can also distribute the aid to poor non-Muslims," he said. The mission, with its cargo of 2,300 tonnes of food, medicines, daily essential goods, clothes and blankets, is expected to take 18 days. The 'Food Flotilla for Myanmar' is organised by the Putra 1Malaysia Club (a non-government organisation) and the Malaysian Consultative Council for Islamic Organisations. Volunteers from 12 countries on board include medical teams, educationists, Malaysian and international journalists as well as representatives of Malaysian and foreign non-governmental organisations. --BERNAMA