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The 106 Malaysians arrived at Kuching International Airport on December 17 and have since been placed in the designated quarantine center according to the latest SOP issued by SDMC.
KUCHING (December 18): Some 106 Malaysians, including 91 Sarawak residents, who had been stranded in Papua New Guinea since mid-October, returned home safely on December 17.
His return was facilitated by the Sarawak Minister of Transport, Datuk Lee Kim Shin, who had contacted the federal Deputy Minister of Transport to expedite the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) in the validation of the Aircraft Operator Certificate. Foreign (FAOC) for the chartered flight to fly. direct from Port Moresby International Airport in Papua New Guinea to Kuching International Airport.
They had the opportunity to return to Malaysia in November, but Lee said the chartered flight had been postponed several times because there was no approval regarding the FAOC validation given by CAAM.
“They used to transit in Singapore, but currently Singapore does not allow transit due to the Covid-19 pandemic control measures. Therefore, the travel agency has chartered a direct flight from Air Niugini Limited from Port Moresby International Airport (in Papua New Guinea) to Kuching International Airport.
“However, said flight has been postponed several times from November 13 to 20 and again on November 24 due to the failure of the FAOC validation by CAAM.
“This has caused some of the passengers to be stranded in Port Moresby since 19 November, while most of them have been stranded in various provinces of Papua New Guinea. These Malaysians have incurred thousands of dollars for daily expenses in Papua New Guinea due to no flight confirmation, ”he said in a statement today.
Apart from that, it also coordinated with the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) to ensure the smooth entry of passengers to Sarawak.
They have since been placed in the designated quarantine facility in accordance with the latest SDMC SOP.
Lee said the stranded Malaysians worked in Papua New Guinea with 33 companies from different sectors, such as logging, retail service and office work, and they wanted to return home, as most of them had completed their employment contracts.
He said a Sarawakian on behalf of all stranded Sarawakians sought Lee’s help by contacting him via Facebook Messenger. This has led him to respond quickly and has facilitated his return to Malaysia.
He said the Sarawakian who requested the help had expressed his gratitude, adding that without Lee’s help there would have been numerous postponements on the chartered flight due to unforeseen circumstances.
Lee also thanked the Federal Transportation Minister and Vice Minister for their prompt response to his request on FAOC validation and dealing with the Papua New Guinea airline.
“I would also like to commend SDMC for its prompt action in handling all requests to enter Sarawak and for organizing the SOP precautionary measures in handling the 106 incoming Malays from Papua New Guinea,” he added.
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