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KUALA LUMPUR: The Foreign Ministry has made it easy for 26,572 Malaysians stranded abroad to return home following the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, said its Deputy Minister Datuk Kamarudin Jaafar.
He said all of them were flown home on 528 flights from 94 countries.
“This number includes 20 members of the Malaysian tabligh congregation who were arrested and taken to court in India, and brought home three days ago.
“Currently, only 56 people are reported to remain stranded abroad while they wait for airports to reopen and commercial flights to resume operations,” he said during the question and answer session in Dewan Negara today.
He said this in his response to a question from Alan Ling Sie Kiong who wanted to know about the efforts made by the ministry to ensure that Malaysians living abroad are safe during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kamarudin also said that the ministry estimated that 457,000 Malaysians were currently abroad, however the actual number could not be finalized as not all Malaysians abroad were registered with Malaysian representative offices.
In this regard, he advised all Malaysians traveling abroad to register at the nearest Malaysian representative office and obtain the correct visa to facilitate any assistance.
He explained that Malaysian representatives are now acting as front-line officers to ensure that Malaysians affected by Covid-19 receive adequate assistance, including medical treatment and facilitation of the journey back home.
“Our representatives are also in close contact with the overseas community to pass on the latest information about Malaysia. We want to thank the National Security Council, the National Agency for Disaster Management and the Ministry of Health for their assistance in this matter, ”he said.Named
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