Some 44 Malaysian doctors from three groups are ready to go to Sri Lanka for humanitarian work in the aftermath of the separatist war that has wreaked havoc on the civilian population.

medical doctors The group comprises 14 doctors from the Malaysian Ceylonese Congress (MCC), 20 from the MIC and 10 from the Global Peace Initiative (GPI).

MCC president NKS Tharmaseelan said that “all 14 doctors are prepared to be there for a month. Those who want to stay on longer can do so.”

“We are planning to send them via Mercy Malaysia,” he said, adding that the cost would be shared by the MCC and Mercy Malaysia.

The 14 are mainly private practitioners. Four are specialists - two are orthopaedic surgeons, one is a gynaecologist and one is a psychiatrist. Most are from the Klang Valley, with two from Perak and one from Malacca.

t mohan T Mohan of MIC Youth told Malaysiakini that the doctors sent by the party will be assigned to locations decided by the Sri Lanka government.

Asked what the endeavour would cost, Mohan said it would “easily be RM200,000 per month” and that the party will also pay their salary. The figure excludes the cost of accommodation.

Up to 90 percent of the doctors, he said, are from the private sector, because government doctors have to depend on annual leave granted to them.

SP Pathi of GPI said his organisation will send 10 volunteers via Mercy Malaysia for a period of between two weeks and a month.

He said the doctors will bear the cost of their airfare, but that RM20,000 has been allocated should they need to return home in case of emergency.

All 10 are from the Klang Valley, with four being specialists. They will leave within the next three weeks.

Dire need of aid

The Sri Lankan Tamil community is in dire need of humanitarian aid from the international community following the government’s military campaign to wipe out the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

sri lanka war against LTTE tamil tigers The LTTE had been waging a 30-year guerilla war against the Sri Lanka government, to set up a separate state.

The government last month declared victory over the LTTE after killing rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

In the ensuing battles, thousands were killed, almost all of whom were minority Tamils, while 100,000 were made homeless.

Mercy Malaysia is currently running humanitarian operations in Sri Lanka.