Anwar said Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan had requested his presence there after Malaysia was among the first countries to send humanitarian aid and personnel to assist in rescue efforts.

“I’m considering leaving for Turkey tonight as several others (world leaders) have arrived there and Erdogan personally asked me to come,” he told the Dewan Rakyat this morning.

He was responding to a question from Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (PN-Kuala Kangsar) asking him to explain what assistance Putrajaya has offered to Turkey and neighbouring Syria.

Both countries were hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Feb 6, with the death toll currently standing at more than 35,000.

Anwar said the government has so far spent RM4 million on aid to Turkey, including expenses to send the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) personnel.

He said two SMART teams had travelled to Turkey to assist in rescue efforts, with another team consisting of army personnel and medical equipment leaving tonight.

He said Putrajaya set aside about RM20 million, including US$1 million (RM4,348,500) from the government and another US$1 million donated by the sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, to channel aid to Turkey.