Aceh's Volunteers to Leave for Gaza to Hand Over Donation

Banda Aceh, Aceh Darussalam (Antara) - Two Aceh's volunteers grouped in the National Committee for Palestinian People (KNRP) will leave for Gaza, Palestine, to hand over donation funds worth Rp823 million (around US$89,000) from the Aceh people. The two volunteers - Tengku Makhyaruddin Yusuf, who is the chairman of the Aceh chapter of KNRP, and Khairul Amal, an adviser of the mass organization, will join other KNRP members in Jakarta before leaving for Gaza, Yusuf said here on Thursday. In November 2012, the KNRP Aceh went to Gaza to present Rp1.16 billion (or about US$120,000) in donation for the Gaza people. The funds were received directly by Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, he said. "Alhamdulillah (thanks God), we have collected a total of Rp2 billion from the Aceh people for the Palestinian people so far," Yusuf, concurrently a local lawmaker, said. Aceh Governor Zaini Abdullah in his written statement read out of Muzakar, the third assistant of the Aceh Administration Secretary, said the Aceh people must pray for the independence of Palestine. He hoped that the Palestinian people know that the Aceh people could feel their suffering and are willing to help and share the burden. The governor also called for the strengthening of brotherhood ties between the Aceh and Palestinian peoples. Aceh is ready to establish cooperation with Palestine in the education and agriculture fields as well as in the implementation of Islamic laws, he said. (*)