ID :
158932
Fri, 02/04/2011 - 15:45
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/158932
The shortlink copeid
FM denies govt slow in evacuating Malaysian cıtızens in Egypt
KOTA KINABALU (Sabah, Malaysia), Feb 4 (Bernama) -- Foreign Minister Anifah Aman has denied allegations by certain quarters on the Internet that the government was dragging its feet to evacuate Malaysian students out of strife-torn Egypt.
Putting the record straight, he said the government acted swiftly to arrange the evacuation of Malaysians from Egypt, saying it was done almost simultaneously with similar moves by other countries, including the United States.
"The people must know it is not that easy to get landing rights in Egypt. It may take sometime, unless of course if the situation there has reached that level of danger.
"After being granted landing rights, we immediately started evacuating Malaysian students out of Egypt since yesterday, and we hope to complete the evacuation process by Monday," he told reporters here Friday.
In this respect, Anifah appealed to the people, particularly bloggers, not to politicise or sabotage the noble efforts of the Malaysian Government to evacuate or fly out the more than 11,000 Malaysians from Egypt to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
"I feel disappointed by the accusations, at a time our government under the leadership of the prime minister (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) is focusing efforts to prioritise the safety of our people in Egypt...certain people are taking advantange of this for political mileage.
"Now is the time for all Malaysians, regardless of political inclinations, to work together to ensure the success of the evacuation process and not find fault," he said.
Asked whether the government would bear the cost of air transportation or flights for the affected Malaysian students from Jeddah to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Anifah said the government would make a decision in a day or two.
"We just wait for the announcement. The government will bear fully, the cost of the evacuations of our citizens from Egypt to Jeddah, and while in Jeddah, we will provide free accomodation and food," he said.
Anifah hoped the parents of Malaysian students in Egypt would not be unduly worried because the government would do its best to take care of them.
On the latest development in the evacuation, he said about 3,600 Malaysian students ferried by seven aircraft -- two Malaysia Airlines Boeing 747, two AirAsia Airbus A320 and three Royal Malaysian Air Force C-130 transport aircraft -- were expected to arrive in Jeddah by midnight local time (about 6am tomorrow in Malaysia).
He said those shuttle flights from either Cairo or Alexandria in Egypt to Jeddah would continue until all Malaysians were evacuated out of Egypt, which has been rocked by violent protests seeking an end to President Hosni Mubarak's rule.
On the request by the Sabah State Government to use chartered flights to fly out Sabahan students from Egypt, Anifah said it was better for the state government to engage a commercial plane operating in the Middle East to avoid facing the hassle of arranging landing rights or air space which was time-consuming.
Putting the record straight, he said the government acted swiftly to arrange the evacuation of Malaysians from Egypt, saying it was done almost simultaneously with similar moves by other countries, including the United States.
"The people must know it is not that easy to get landing rights in Egypt. It may take sometime, unless of course if the situation there has reached that level of danger.
"After being granted landing rights, we immediately started evacuating Malaysian students out of Egypt since yesterday, and we hope to complete the evacuation process by Monday," he told reporters here Friday.
In this respect, Anifah appealed to the people, particularly bloggers, not to politicise or sabotage the noble efforts of the Malaysian Government to evacuate or fly out the more than 11,000 Malaysians from Egypt to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
"I feel disappointed by the accusations, at a time our government under the leadership of the prime minister (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) is focusing efforts to prioritise the safety of our people in Egypt...certain people are taking advantange of this for political mileage.
"Now is the time for all Malaysians, regardless of political inclinations, to work together to ensure the success of the evacuation process and not find fault," he said.
Asked whether the government would bear the cost of air transportation or flights for the affected Malaysian students from Jeddah to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Anifah said the government would make a decision in a day or two.
"We just wait for the announcement. The government will bear fully, the cost of the evacuations of our citizens from Egypt to Jeddah, and while in Jeddah, we will provide free accomodation and food," he said.
Anifah hoped the parents of Malaysian students in Egypt would not be unduly worried because the government would do its best to take care of them.
On the latest development in the evacuation, he said about 3,600 Malaysian students ferried by seven aircraft -- two Malaysia Airlines Boeing 747, two AirAsia Airbus A320 and three Royal Malaysian Air Force C-130 transport aircraft -- were expected to arrive in Jeddah by midnight local time (about 6am tomorrow in Malaysia).
He said those shuttle flights from either Cairo or Alexandria in Egypt to Jeddah would continue until all Malaysians were evacuated out of Egypt, which has been rocked by violent protests seeking an end to President Hosni Mubarak's rule.
On the request by the Sabah State Government to use chartered flights to fly out Sabahan students from Egypt, Anifah said it was better for the state government to engage a commercial plane operating in the Middle East to avoid facing the hassle of arranging landing rights or air space which was time-consuming.
