‘Baseless’ to say 10,000 Malaysians stuck in Thailand, says Wisma Putra

 

Malaysians requiring assistance with travel papers to return home have been advised to the contact the consulate-general’s office in Songkhla, Thailand. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: The foreign ministry has refuted media reports that more than 10,000 Malaysians have been staying illegally in southern Thailand after their travel documents expired.

“Based on initial observations, the claim is baseless. The ministry is confident the figure is much lower than reported,” Wisma Putra said in a statement today.

It said that since the movement control order (MCO) was imposed in March 2020, the ministry and the Malaysian consulate-general in Songkhla had provided assistance to 2,349 Malaysians who intended on returning.

Based on the consulate’s records, it said only 72 Malaysians had registered with the consulate-general to obtain border passes.

“This number is part of the 444 Malaysian citizens who have registered with the consulate-general.”

It was earlier reported that the Malaysians were stranded after entering Thailand before the first MCO was imposed in 2020. They were forced to stay there following the closure of the border with Thailand.

The consulate-general in Songkhla province was unable to assist in renewing their travel documents, Utusan Malaysia had reported.

A spokesman for the consulate-general told the Malay daily the Malaysians had to apply for emergency travel documents through the Thai government to return home.

In response to this, the ministry, in its statement today, admitted Malaysians had been facing “difficulties” due to the closure of the Malaysian border since March 2020.

The Thai government had announced in February last year that all foreign citizens holding tourist or short-term visas must leave the country or face a penalty.

“Following that, the Malaysian consulate in Thailand extended its assistance through the renewal of international passports for Malaysians who intended to apply for visa extensions to remain in the country.

“Emergency travel documents were also issued to holders of expired border passes to enable them to return to Malaysia,” the ministry added.

Wisma Putra said the Malaysian consulate had always been sensitive to the well-being of Malaysians and was prepared to extend its assistance to citizens affected by the closure of the Malaysia-Thailand border.

It requested citizens affected by the border closure to approach the Malaysian consulate office in Songkhla.

The consulate can be contacted at +66-74311062/+66-316 274 or mwsongkhla@kln.gov.my. - FMT