Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he would on Friday visit Indonesia's Aceh province, hardest hit by last week's disaster, a day after he attends a tsunami summit in Jakarta.

"It will give me an opportunity to see the actual situation. It will also allow me to meet the Malaysian relief team," he told reporters.

Earlier today, Abdullah met Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta to present cash donations worth US$3.4 million, bringing Malaysia's total contribution to US$5.3 million.

The prime minister said at the request of the Indonesian president, Malaysia would provide additional helicopters, bulldozers and forklift trucks to transport and lift aid materials for the survivors of the Aceh disaster.

He said Malaysia would also deploy 250 former policemen for search and rescue operations in addition to the dozens of medical officers it has already sent to Aceh.

OIC fund

Abdullah, who chairs the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), said he would drum up support among OIC members to fund a project to protect thousands of children who have lost their parents and family members.

The prime minister said he was informed by the Indonesian president that there were some 38,000 orphans in Aceh following the tsunami.

"OIC is prepared to fund the project to look after the orphans," he said.

The Malaysian prime minister is among world leaders who will meet today to discuss the Dec 26 tsunami which wreaked havoc on shorelines across the Indian Ocean, killing more than 145,000 people, two thirds of them in Indonesia.