PETALING JAYA: Strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) in certain foreign countries make it difficult for the government to repatriate stranded Malaysians there.
Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (pix) said chief among this was the closing of international borders and the barring of foreign flights from entering their countries, making repatriation almost impossible.
Ismail said the government was particularly concerned about Malaysians who are stuck in countries that were declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to be high-risk of Covid-19 infection.
“In some countries, they do not allow foreign aircrafts to land on their soil. There are also no commercial flights flying from there to Malaysia. So, the process is not as easy as it may seem,” he said in his Covid-19 press briefing in Putrajaya today.
“But we are very much concerned for our people. Some countries were declared by WHO to be at a very critical level, as far as the pandemic goes. This worries us, which is why we are giving extra attention.”
He said with this in mind, the Foreign Ministry has been tasked to come up with a repatriation plan soon.
According to Ismail, at present the government has identified 10,484 Malaysians who are or have the potential to be stranded.
He explained that those with the potential to be stranded overseas include students who are about to complete their education, or employees who might be out of contract soon.
“These people no longer need to stay there, particularly as their house tenancies might also expire soon. We know in Oman, for example, a number of Malaysians are now out of jobs.
“There are also students in Egypt and Jordan who are completing their education. They too need to return home.”
Ismail said yesterday’s special committee meeting had proposed that the Covid-19 fund be expanded to include repatriation of Malaysians stranded abroad.
Currently, the fund is only used to assist Malaysians in the country who are financially affected by the pandemic.
Ismail said at the moment there are an estimated 457,000 Malaysians who are staying abroad, of whom only 387,702 are registered with the respective embassies.
He urged those who have yet to register to do so immediately for better monitoring.
