Malaysians in north and west India to be brought back home - Hishammuddin

Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the mission will be conducted with the cooperation of the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) and Health Ministry using a specially chartered aircraft from Malaysia.

"The aircraft will depart to New Delhi and Mumbai, India as soon as all related arrangements including the approval from the Indian government for the special flight," he said in a statement issued by the Malaysian Foreign Ministry on Thursday.

Hishammuddin said the decision to bring them back was made jointly by all the agencies involved taking into account the observations and the analysis by the Malaysian missions in India.

Those who will be returning include home based staff from the various Malaysian agencies and their dependents and all will have to undergo COVID-19 test before leaving India and also upon arrival in Malaysia.

"Apart from that, they are also required to undergo 14-day quarantine at the centres appointed by the government," he said.

Hishammuddin said Malaysians at the northern and western region of India keen in joining the repartriation flight should register with the Malaysian High Commission in New Delhi and the Malaysian Consulate General in Mumbai through email [email protected] or [email protected], the latest by 5 pm May 7 (Friday) Indian time.

He reminded all Malaysians in both Indian regions to keep in contact with the High Commission and the Consulate General for the latest information relating to the mission or for consular assistance.

Hishammuddin also pointed out the southern and the eastern region of the country is not included in the repatriation mission as the situation there is still under control.

Wisma Putra through its Consulate General in Chennai will continue monitoring the situation in both regions and evaluate the situation to ensure the safety and wellbeing of Malaysians there.

"The repatriation mission is the continuous effort and commitment of the government in ensuring the wellbeing of Malaysians overseas," he said.

Hishammuddin recalled that the same mission was carried out during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak last year where Malaysians were successfully repatriated from Wuhan, China, Iran and Italy.

India set a new global record Thursday after the country registered its biggest single-day rise in coronavirus cases of over 412,000 in the last 24 hours.

The Health Ministry reported 412,262 new cases, taking the country's total number of infections to over 21 million. With a record 3,980 new fatalities, the death toll reached 230,168.