COVID-19: Foreign missions in Malaysia keeping track of situation

Following the Malaysian government's decision to enforce the Movement Control Order to curb the rise in COVID-19 cases, foreign embassies here have put several measures in place to cope with the situation.

The measures include working from home, reducing the number of staff on duty, and shortening the working hours.

However, they are always in touch with their citizens through various communication channels like a 24-hour hotline and social media accounts, and spare no efforts in assisting their citizens during these challenging times.

The Movement Control Order is being implemented under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 and the Police Act 1967 from March 18 to 31, 2020, as part of Malaysia's efforts to contain the disease.

Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Malaysia Prof Dr Qaley Allahverdiyev said, following the advice from the Malaysian Foreign Ministry, the embassy has implemented some restrictions, whereby it provides consular services for very urgent and time-sensitive situations.

He said the embassy is offering a 24-hour hotline service and uses social media to reach out to all the citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Malaysia and three other ASEAN countries covered by the embassy.

The hotline number is +6017 2398943.

"And (we) ask them to immediately contact our consular service, should they have any questions related to (the) COVID-19 pandemic," he told Bernama.

Dr Allahverdiyev said besides Malaysia, the embassy also covers Thailand, Myanmar and Brunei Darussalam.

Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Malaysia, Dr Mohib Rahman Spingar, said the number of staff on duty at the embassy has been reduced to two staff for every four hours daily to handle various matters.

He told Bernama that there are currently about 700 Afghan students as well as people from the business community in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, the British High Commission in Malaysia, in a statement, said the High Commission remains operational during the period of the order.

"Understandably, it will not be business as usual as we have started a remote working arrangement for members of our staff in order to observe the movement control order.

"Our priority is to make sure that British nationals in Malaysia are given the necessary consular support during this time, and to attend to their enquiries about the movement restriction," it added.

The statement said British nationals who require consular services can contact 603-21702200 and it will be updating the Travel Advice (www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/malaysia) as well as its social media channels (@UKinMalaysia). - BERNAMA