123 Malaysians depart from Bangladesh

DHAKA: A total of 123 Malaysians, including 80 students, have safely departed from Dhaka, Bangladesh on a special AirAsia flight at 11:05 a.m. local time.

According to Bernama, their evacuation through Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport proceeded smoothly, although it was delayed by over an hour from the scheduled time due to slow immigration counter processes.

The airport in the Bangladeshi capital is under tight military control following a nationwide curfew imposed since last Saturday.

The flight, part of the mission to bring Malaysians back from Bangladesh led by Datuk Dr. Shazelina Zainul Abidin, Secretary of the South Asia and Central Asia Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is expected to take three hours and 55 minutes before landing at Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 2 (KLIA2).

They will be welcomed upon arrival by the Minister of Home Affairs, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim stated that the government decided to repatriate Malaysian students from Bangladesh due to escalating tensions in the country.

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

Also participating in the mission were Bernama’s representatives, Assistant Editor (News Services) Nik Nurfaqih Nik Wil, along with photographer Muhammad Izzuddin Abd Radzak.

Thousands of students in Bangladesh have been staging demonstrations since July 1 in response to a court decision reinstating a quota for public sector jobs that had been abolished in 2018.

The Bangladeshi government imposed a nationwide curfew in response to escalating violence and demonstrations, which have claimed over 130 lives.