UNREST IN BANGLADESH: 123 MALAYSIANS RETURN HOME

SEPANG, July 23 (Bernama) -- A total of 123 Malaysians, including 80 students, were brought home today from violence-hit Bangladesh on a special flight under the directive of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

They arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 2 at around 4.56 pm on AirAsia flight AK0076, which departed from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh this morning.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, representing the Prime Minister, Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin, and Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapha Sakmud greeted them on arrival.

The special flight departed from KLIA Terminal 2 at 7.30 am today on the evacuation mission.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister said the government had decided to bring home Malaysians from Bangladesh in the wake of unrest in that country.

-- BERNAMA

The mission involved 15 officers from the Foreign Ministry, the Prime Minister's Department and the National Security Council.

Malaysia became the second country after India to evacuate its citizens following the protests in Bangladesh, which have claimed more than 130 lives since mid-July.

Thousands of students in Bangladesh have been demonstrating since July 1 following a court decision to reinstate quotas for public sector jobs that were abolished in 2018.

The Bangladeshi government imposed a nationwide curfew last Saturday in response to escalating violence and demonstrations.

Yesterday, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said his ministry would collaborate with the Foreign Ministry to provide necessary assistance, including counselling, accommodation and logistics, to the returning Malaysians

-- BERNAMA