Malaysians believed to be among thousands at tabligh rally in Sulawesi

A Malaysian Embassy spokesman in Jakarta said although the embassy had issued an order banning Malaysians from attending the programme, scores of Malaysians are believed to be there.

"We do not have the exact figure of Malaysians attending the event, but we are trying to locate them," he told Bernama.

He said based on a consular notice for Malaysians to register via email to the embassy at [email protected] or [email protected], some of those who registered were among participants of the event.

According to a Bernama source, 83 Malaysians were already in Sulawesi for the event where the participants are from 48 other countries.

However local media reported that the Indonesian authorities have not issued any permit for the event scheduled to take place from March 19 to 22.

The authorities are also in the process of negotiating with the organisers to cancel the event.

On March 14, the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta through a consular notice warned Malaysians from attending any large-scale rally or event in Indonesia, following the COVID-19 pandemic, including attending the ijtima event.

From Feb 27 to March 1 over 10,000 congregants were reported to have attended a tabligh rally at the Seri Petaling Mosque in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, which led to the spread of COVID-19, and a drastic hike in positive cases in Malaysia.