BANGKOK – The NSTP-Media Prima humanitarian relief mission here was flagged off yesterday by Malaysian ambassador to Thailand Datuk Nazirah Hussain, five hours after it arrived from Hat Yai.

The 14-hour, 800km drive took a toll on one of the vehicles in the convoy, causing a three-hour delay in its arrival here. Earlier, one vehicle had to be left behind in Penang when its engine overheated after it left Balai Berita in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday morning.

The 10-car convoy, under the Tabung Bencana NSTP-Media Prima, is led by Media Prima Bhd executive director for news and editorial operations Datuk Ahmad A. Talib. Earlier, Ahmad and Proton managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Syed Tahir made a courtesy call on the ambassador.

Proton is one of the major sponsors of the mission. Five Proton Exora Bold and Exora Prime are taking part in the mission. Nazirah thanked members for their efforts in helping the flood victims. “Although the floods are over, they still need assistance and all the help that we can give them,” she said.

The mission’s first stop yesterday was at the Lumplee Chanupatham Secondary School, where it distributed goods to some 50 families hit by the floods recently. Mission members also did some cleaning up at the school.

In the afternoon, it moved to Ayutthaya, where it distributed goods to 200 families at the Kudee Chofa mosque. The week-long mission will see members distributing goods worth RM60,000 to some 600 families who were hit by the recent floods.

SP Setia Foundation and Proton are among the sponsors of the mission. Other sponsors are Felda Global Ventures Holdings Berhad, Adabi Consumer Industries Sdn Bhd, Public Gold Marketing Sdn Bhd, Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd, Shell Lubricants, Nikon (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, PLUS Expressways Berhad, GCH Retail (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Tesco Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Kelab 4×4 Redah and Kelab 4×4 Kembara Selangor.