Malaysian Students To Be Evacuated From Riau After Haze Emergency Declared

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PETALING JAYA: Some 306 Malaysians students in Pekanbaru and Jambi, Indonesia will be evacuated from the area after a state of emergency was declared in Riau due to severe haze, said the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma)
"Of this, 165 students will be brought home to Malaysia, whereas 141 others will be evacuated to the Malaysia Hall in Jakarta," Nadma said in a statement issued on Tuesday (Sept 24)
To speed up the evacuation process, the agency said that commercial flights would be used to bring home the 165 students to the country while the remaining 141 would be moved to the evacuation centre in Malaysia Hall by domestic flights
The agency added the Malaysian students moved to Jakarta would remain there for the duration of the emergency between Sept 23 and 31
"Students remaining behind (in Jakarta) are those who are required to make visa reapplications, which may take some time, while there are some new students who are still awaiting approval for their temporary residents permit from Indonesian immigration," the Nadma said
The agency stressed that the Malaysian Government is confident of getting all Malaysian citizens out of the emergency area
Earlier on Tuesday, Nadma issued a statement saying that Riau governor Syamsuar had declared a state of emergency from Sept 23 to Oct 31, which may be extended if the air pollution situation does not improve
The agency also said that a meeting was held with Wisma Putra, the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) and other related bodies to discuss the evacuation operations to bring back the Malaysian students in Pekanbaru and Jambi
In a separate statement, Wisma Putra said that the government decided to initiate the evacuation process involving Malaysian students after the emergency was declared in the area
The decision was made after concerns that the air quality reading or Air Pollutant Index (API) had reached dangerous categories of between 550 and 700 API
The evacuation process would be carried out by Wisma Putra, Nadma and other agencies including the National Security Council and Education Ministry, the statement added
The statement also said that Wisma Putra and the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta have activated operations rooms to ensure the smooth evacuation process of the students
Those seeking further information are advised to contact the operations rooms at Wisma Putra (03-8887 4570/ 03-8887 4770 or email: [email protected]) or the operations room at the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta (+6221-5224 947 and +62813-8081 3036 (WhatsApp) or email: [email protected]/[email protected])- Star

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