KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will establish a disaster relief centre at the Subang airbase, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday.

To be operational next year, the deputy prime minister said the centre would support humanitarian and food assistance relief operations in the Asia-Pacific region.

Malaysia is undertaking the effort in collaboration with the World Food Programme. The government will contribute US$1 million (RM3.66 million) annually to run the centre.

“The suggestion to establish this centre was made by the Defence Ministry, and we have decided to act on it,” Najib said.

“All disaster and food relief operations will emanate from Subang,” he said in his keynote address at the Third Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.

The three-day conference, attended by 600 delegates from 39 countries, is being held at the Putra World Trade Centre.

Najib said disaster risk was a global concern and according to a United Nations Development Programme report, an average of 326 climate-related disasters occurred annually from 2000-2004.

More than 200 million people are affected annually with most of the victims from Asia, making the region the world’s most disaster-prone area.

“From an economic perspective, natural disasters exert an enormous toll on development.”

He said the poor “suffer the greatest cost in terms of lives and livelihoods, and in rebuilding their shattered communities”.

“Not all disasters can be prevented but their impact and all the underlying risks can be reduced.”

However, the deputy prime minister said disaster-risk reduction should not be viewed as the sole responsibility of the government, adding that partnerships with all stakeholders were important.

“Public and private sector resources need to be mobilised towards activities aimed at disaster-risk reduction.”

In Malaysia, he said the government had established the National Disaster Fund to provide financial assistance for flood victims.

The corporate sector had responded positively by contributing an average of RM20 million annually to the fund.

Non-governmental organisations have also raised public awareness of risk prevention, mitigation and preparedness.

The objectives of the conference are to review the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action, which was adopted by 168 countries in 2005 to reduce disaster risks and build resilient communities.

Source: NST – December 3, 2008