Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas will visit Malaysia to discuss assistance amid a financial crisis brought on by an international boycott of the Hamas government, state media said yesterday.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he had invited Abbas to come to Kuala Lumpur "to discuss many things that could help Palestine", Bernama news agency said.

"The Palestinian people have cried for too long ... they have suffered too long," he was quoted as saying in the report.

"They want money in their pockets, food in their kitchen... they want their children to go to school," he said during a joint press conference late Saturday after meeting the Palestinian leader.

Both men are in Egypt for a meeting of the World Economic Forum.

'Malaysia is very dear'

Malaysia, the current chair of the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference, last week announced it would provide aid to the Palestinian government, although it did not specify the amount.

"Malaysia is very dear to the Palestinians' heart," said Abbas, adding that a date would be fixed later for the visit.

The United States and the European Union, the main donor to the Palestinians giving 500 million euros a year, both suspended aid after the radical Islamic group Hamas won elections in January.

The boycott has left the Palestinian Authority on the verge of bankruptcy.