123 Malaysians leave Bangladesh

DHAKA: 123 Malaysians, including 80 students, survived their departure from Dhaka, Bangladesh, on an AirAsia special flight at 11.05 a.m. (local time Dhaka).

According to reports, their evacuation through Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport went smoothly, despite more than an hour’s delay in the follow-up schedule at the immigration counters running slowly.

Since Saturday, the airport in Bangladesh’s capital has been under strict surveillance by military officers on order throughout the country.

The flight, which will take three hours and 55 minutes before landing at Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 2 (KLIA2), will be accompanied by a mission delegation bringing Malaysians back from Bangladesh led by the Secretary-General for South Asia and Central Asia of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Shazelina Zainul Abidin.

When they arrive, Interior Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail will greet them.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the government decided to bring back Malaysian students from Bangladesh following the peak of tensions in the country.

The mission involves 15 officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Prime Minister’s Office, and the National Security Council.

Also on the mission were Deputy Assistant Editor (News Service) Nik Nurfaqih Nik Wil and photographer Muhammad Izzuddin Abd Radzak.

Thousands of students in Bangladesh have demonstrated since July 1, after a court ruling reinstated quotas for public jobs that were abolished in 2018.

The government of Bangladesh has imposed a nationwide shutdown order in response to the rise in violence and demonstrations that have claimed more than 130 lives.