MALAYSIAN EMBASSY PLAYS ITS ROLE IN OPS PIRAMID

By Mohd Hisham Abdul Rafar

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10 (Bernama) -- The adage, 'When the going gets tough, the
tough get going', holds true for the Malaysian Embassy in Cairo.

Since Egypt began reeling in the throes of political unrest, the embassy has
been undeterred as it worked round-the-clock to ensure the success of the
evacuation operation, dubbed 'Ops Piramid'.

Amid the chaos triggered by street demonstrations at several cities, especially
in Cairo, there was no let-up in the untiring efforts of Ambassador Dr Mohd
Fakhrudin Abdul Mukti and his seven-man team to identify all Malaysians in the
country.

This is despite some not having registered with the embassy, or staying outside
Cairo.

Recounting their experiences, Mohd Fakhrudin said in the process of seeking
Malaysian students and citizens there, his officers risked their lives when
flouting the quarantine order to locate those who could not be contacted at
their hostel or rented homes.

There are about 11,000 Malaysian students registered with the embassy, while an
estimated 200 people are not registered, he told Bernama when contacted here
Thursday.

Mohd Fakhrudin said since Jan 28, they were subjected to quarantine periods at
various times, following increasingly critical demonstrations outside, making it
even more difficult to reach Malaysians who entered the country through agents
and had no records with the embassy.

The process of identifying Malaysians in Egypt was a trying one for embassy
officers. They were neither at the addresses given, nor could they be contacted
by phone.

"This is because e-mail and phone services were blocked, thus hindering our
search efforts. When we could not reach them, our officers went to the
respective hostels or houses to inform them of the evacuation plan," he said.

Regarding private sector employees in Egypt, Mohd Fakhrudin said they were not
required to register with the embassy. Nevertheless, this posed yet another
challenge to identify the group.

Besides search efforts, embassy personnel were also required to provide
accommodation and food to Malaysians who were trapped and waiting for their
flights at the Cairo International Airport.

He said, at times, he and his officers sneaked out at night to send food to
Malaysian students at the airport, despite the risk of being detained by locals.

"When we found out that most of our students and people were stuck in the
airport, we worked on getting food for them...but our obstacle came in the form
of quarantine periods which led to the closure of many shops.

"We could only buy supplies at 8am and then cook the food ourselves. There was a
time when the food was confiscated during a road block," he said.

However, Mohd Fakhrudin said the arrival of extra hands from Malaysia on Jan 29,
led by Deputy Foreign Minister A. Kohilan Pillay, including the prime minister's
political secretary, Sahlan Ismail, eased the burden carried by the embassy's
small team.

Coordination of the rescue efforts to evacuate about 9,000 Malaysians, he said,
also took detailed planning from various parties which included the immigration
department, local airline companies and the Malaysian Armed Forcesto arrange
travel matters, while transportation, food and accommodation were handled by
various government agencies including Malaysia's Pilgrims Management Fund, state
governments and Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara), a Malaysian government agency.

As of Wednesday, 7,209 Malaysians have been relocated to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,
and 1,439 have returned home.

'Ops Piramid' is expected to end on Sunday.
-- BERNAMA