KUALA LUMPUR: The Putera 1Malaysia Club (KP1M) will provide bulletproof vests for volunteers accompanying them on their relief mission to Myanmar to help the Rohingya people this Friday.
This is to prevent another possible tragedy involving volunteers, as seen in the fatal shooting of Bernama TV cameraman Noramfaizul Mohd Nor, who died in the line of duty while covering the club’s relief mission to Somalia last year.
KP1M chairman Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (pic) said this time, the club will be prepared for the sectarian violence that lies ahead in the region.
“We are aware of the implications of the previous incident. This time, we are doing our best to ensure the safety of the volunteers,” he told Malaysian Digest today.
More than 60 volunteers, including media personnel, are expected to form part of the relief team which will depart for Kutapalons and Mayapara in Bangladesh, as well as to Arakan refugee camps in Maungbow and Bathidaung in Myanmar.
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“The volunteers who will be accompanying the relief team will wear bulletproof vests supplied by the Malaysian army. Out of the 60 volunteers, 10, including one or two media personnel, will be going in the field to send the aid.
“Those handing over the goods will be given bulletproof vests while others will be staying on deck or on the lorry, handling logistics and such,” he said.
In addition, Abdul Azeez said all volunteers will have to undergo a two-day safety course this Wednesday and Thursday to prepare them for the challenges ahead.
The course, he said, will be conducted by SAC Hanif Ahmad, former Petaling Jaya police chief, ex-General Operation Force (Central Brigade), and former Petronas Security general manager, and Datuk Dr Mohd Alwi Abdul Rahman who is an emergency medical and disaster management expert.
He said, when the relief team arrives, they will link up with members of the armed forces provided by the Myanmar government.
Abdul Azeez said they do not have the exact number of media personnel taking part yet, but this is expected to be finalised on Wednesday. He expects a media team of about 14 people.
Earlier today, he had met with a number of Rohingya refugees in Malaysia, who had visited KP1M's headquarters in Jalan Kampung Attap, where they also examined the supplies that will be distributed to the war-torn area.
KP1M’s mission is to send humanitarian aid, especially food, to about 200,000 Rohingya refugees. The team will be leaving by ship from Port Klang on Aug 31 and is expected to return on Sept 6.
They are hoping to cover six major camps at the border that consist of approximately 100,000 Rohingya refugees.
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The club welcomes donations from the public that can be sent to its headquarters at 66 Jalan Kampung Attap, 50460 Kuala Lumpur, before Aug 31.
Donations may include food, blankets, mineral water, medication, and baby milk formula.
Last year on Aug 28, KP1M arranged a humanitarian aid mission to Mogadishu in Somalia, where two media personnel were shot, one died while the other another survived.
Bernama TV cameraman Noramfaizul Mohd Nor, 41, was shot on 2 September 2012 around 10.30pm Malaysia time and passed away while receiving medical attention at 11.07pm (Malaysia time), which is five hours ahead of Mogadhisu.
The shots were fired at a government army truck accompanying the media vehicle and a stray bullet pierced Noramfaizul through his lungs.
Another media personnel shot was TV3 cameraman Aziz Reza Mazlan, but escaped with light injuries.
Following the incident, KP1M was roundly criticized for its failure to provide adequate protection for the media personnel, as well as lack of safety training for those embarking on missions to war-torn areas.
KP1M was questioned over whether it had adequately warned the 55 people in the mission, which included volunteers, doctors, air force personnel and media workers, about the dangers and whether journalists were being adequately protected while reporting in dangerous situations.
Noramfaizul was the first Malaysian journalist to die in a conflict zone. As a result, he received a hero's burial in Malaysia. According to his colleague Khairulanuar Yahaya, Noramfaizul had covered three other humanitarian missions to Gaza, Pakistan and New Zealand for Bernama.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) lists Noramfaizul as the 35th journalist confirmed killed while reporting in Somalia since 1992, while it notes that two reporters during that period are still unconfirmed. According to the same source, the deadliest year in Somalia during that period was 2009 when nine journalists were killed.
In response to the controversy, the Human Resources Ministry announced it would work with media to develop guidelines for media personnel who work in high risk areas.
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--mD
