Nepal declines Malaysia’s SMART rescue team and asks only for supplies

Nepal has rejected Malaysia’s offer to send its Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team, known as SMART, and said it wants goods instead of foreign rescue personnel.

Malaysian Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the team was fully prepared to leave at any time if Nepal requested its assistance in locating Malaysians still missing after the floods. He said Nepal may have taken its position to avoid confusion and coordination problems caused by having too many teams at the disaster site.

“Nepal has made its position clear that it will only accept assistance in the form of goods, not the dispatch of personnel,” Mohamed Khaled said. “Our SMART team is ready to be sent at any time.” He added that Malaysia faced no obstacle to sending items Nepal might need.

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Nepal has made its position clear that it will only accept assistance in the form of goods, not the dispatch of personnel.

The minister was responding to questions about whether Malaysia would deploy military assets for the rescue effort. Earlier reports said the families of 55 Malaysians still missing in Nepal had questioned the purpose of a SMART mission nine days after the floods. Dr. R. Manivannan, a spokesman for Malaysia Solidarity: Families in Hope, said the most critical period for the team to be physically present had passed and that families deserved a detailed explanation.

Mohamed Khaled made the comments after speaking to Malaysia’s university reserve officer training teams at Universiti Malaysia Perlis. He said the program also helped identify students who could join the armed forces and encouraged them to serve as volunteers in national defence.

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Our SMART team is ready to be sent at any time.