The massive earthquake that hit southern Turkiye and northern Syria on 6 February 2023 has killed more than 50,000 people to date, injured tens of thousands of others and left millions without shelter in freezing temperatures. Building infrastructures including homes, hospitals and schools have collapsed or were badly damaged, while medical facilities are overstretched and operating with limited resources.

Standing in solidarity with the victims of the natural disaster, Northport (Malaysia) Bhd (Northport), a member of MMC Group, Infinity Logistics and Transport Sdn Bhd (Infinity) and Port Klang Authority (PKA) jointly initiated a “Port Klang Shipping and Logistics Community Humanitarian Aid for Turkiye and Syria” on 17 February 2023 to help those affected by the devastating earthquake. The donation campaign has successfully raised monetary contributions totaling RM510,000.00 from Port Klang’s shipping and logistics industry players. This contribution will be channeled to the victims in both affected countries through the Malaysian Relief Agency (MRA), which is a humanitarian organisation registered under the Trustees Act with the primary objective of assisting those affected by natural disasters or armed conflict, both local and abroad.

On 23 February 2023, the Minister of Transport Malaysia, Yang Berhormat Anthony Loke Siew Fook handed over the Port Klang shipping and logistics industry contribution to MRA’s President, Dr Mohd Daud Sulaiman, witnessed by the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkiye to Malaysia, His Excellency Emir Salim Yüksel during a simple ceremony held at Northport. Also present were Dato’ Azman Shah Mohd Yusof, Chief Executive Officer of Northport, Dato’ Seri Chan Kong Yew, Managing Director of Infinity, Captain K Subramaniam, General Manager of PKA and the contributors of the donation campaign.

“The natural disaster has caused massive damage to Turkiye and Syria. This situation triggered us to render immediate support and assistance to the earthquake victims in both countries. I am very proud to be part of the campaign where we have successfully gathered our like-minded community members and raised more than half a million ringgit in just less than five days. This campaign symbolises the collective responsibility and exemplary team spirit of our industry players in Port Klang including port operators, the port authority, industry associations, shipping lines, freight forwarders and logistics service providers to help those in need who are struggling to survive and recover from this devastating catastrophe,” said Dato’ Azman.

Northport and Infinity will be collaborating with MRA for the shipment of the humanitarian aid items to Turkiye and Syria. MRA will be responsible to identify and source the aid items urgently needed by the victims in both Turkiye and Syria using the money collected from the donation campaign. Once the aid items are ready to be shipped, Infinity will coordinate and provide the logistics, forwarding and haulage services. Meanwhile, Northport will be coordinating with shipping lines for the loading of these containers onto ships that call the nearest port to the affected areas in both countries. MRA will then work with the logistics counterparts in both countries for the landside cargo movement.