SALAM VOLUNTEERS HEAD FOR PALESTINE TUESDAY

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 (Bernama) -- Five Yayasan Salam Malaysia (SALAM) volunteers will leave for Palestine Tuesday to provide humanitarian aid to victims of Israeli atrocities in Gaza.

Ahmad A. Talib, a member of Salam's board of trustees, said the group,
which would be led by himself, would join other voluntary groups already there
or are waiting to cross into Gaza from Egypt in bringing urgent necessities like
food, medicine, clothing and blankets.

"We appeal to the public and corporations to continue donating for the
Palestinian cause as the amount we have received so far is still not enough," he
told reporters after officiating SALAM's Volunteers Appreciation Ceremony for
2008, here Sunday.

He said emergency specialist Dr. Baba Mohd Deni, who took a bullet in
his leg while on a mercy mission in Baghdad when the United States and its
allies invaded Iraq in 2003, would be part of the mission.

"This is our first volunteer group to Gaza and will be followed by a second
on Jan 27," Ahmad added.

SALAM, a non-governmental organisation chaired by former diplomat Razali
Ismail, now has a volunteer force of some 4,000 from across the country.
-- BERNAMA