Nepal restricts aid to goods only, Malaysia's rescue team on standby

Nepal has signalled it will only receive goods and supplies in its current emergency response efforts, according to Malaysia's Defence Minister Khaled, effectively limiting the deployment of international search and rescue teams to the earthquake-affected nation.

The clarification comes as neighbouring countries mobilise assistance following the recent seismic activity that struck the region. Malaysia's specially trained disaster response unit has been placed on alert and stands ready for immediate deployment, pending a change in Nepal's current acceptance criteria.

"The Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team is prepared to be deployed whenever Nepal indicates a need for personnel-based assistance," the Defence Minister said, underscoring Malaysia's commitment to regional disaster response coordination.

The decision to restrict aid to material support suggests Nepal may have sufficient domestic capacity to handle immediate rescue and recovery operations, or may be managing coordination logistics carefully given the scale of international offers of assistance.

Malaysia joins other regional nations in respecting Nepal's assessment of its recovery needs while maintaining readiness to provide specialist personnel support if circumstances warrant such intervention.