1,900 Malaysians stranded in several Indian cities being brought home

Malaysians stranded by India’s lockdown are slowly being brought home.

PUTRAJAYA: The government will be bringing home more than 1,900 Malaysians stranded in various cities in India due to that country’s Covid-19 lockdown.

Deputy Foreign Minister Kamarudin Jaffar told reporters, in a Facebook live video, that MIC will be sponsoring another 12 flights to bring back 1,988 Malaysians in Chennai, New Delhi, Amritsar and Trichy.

“The repatriation process will be done in stages and we are still waiting for confirmation of flight bookings as well as approval to land there.

“In the meantime, we hope that Malaysians in India will stay calm and adhere to the local authorities’ instructions as well as keep in close contact with Malaysian consulate offices,” he said.

Kamarudin also said that the Bruneian government had agreed to bring back 86 Malaysians stranded in Cairo, Egypt, through the country’s chartered aircraft.

He added that the chartered aircraft will arrive in Bandar Seri Begawan tomorrow morning and 86 Malaysians will later take another Malaysia Airlines transit flight to KLIA.

“Taking into account the close Brunei-Malaysia diplomatic ties, we’ve also agreed to ferry 142 Bruneians here back to their homeland, using the same MAS flight,” Kamarudin said.

Meanwhile, MIC deputy president M Saravanan said the political party had made arrangements with Malindo Airlines to fly to various Indian cities.

“We will not only bring back Malaysians stranded in India, but also those stranded in 58 other countries. This will be done gradually,” he added.

Previously, Wisma Putra, with MIC’s assistance, had brought back 1,116 Malaysians in India.

Besides bringing back fellow countrymen in India and Egypt, Kamarudin also said that a company, Weststar Aviation Services Sdn Bhd, will be sponsoring flights to bring back 18 Malaysians stuck in the Maldives.

“The government and MIC are planning to bring back Malaysians in Kathmandu, Nepal, in the near future.”

A report yesterday stated that 35 Malaysians, including eight Everest trekkers, were stranded there. - FMT