Evacuation of Malaysians from region under way

DUBAI The Malaysian Ambassador to the UAE, Dato Syed Hussein Al Habshee, said the rescue exercise to evacuate Malaysians stranded in the war zone, particularly from Kuwait, Syria and Jordan, is under way.

By Meraj Rizvi

Published: Mon 24 Mar 2003, 11:24 AM

Last updated: Wed 1 Apr 2015, 10:56 PM

Three C130 aircraft of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) have been pressed into operation. All these flights originate from Dubai.

Briefing the Press in Dubai yesterday, Mr Al Habshee said the first phase of Operation Stingray was successfully completed when six Malaysian students were air-lifted from Kuwait on Saturday and brought to Dubai to board an onward Malaysian Airline flight for Kuala Lumpur.

"Although there were 129 Malaysians in Kuwait, 65 had left on their own before the war broke out," he said, assuring that they will make all efforts to evacuate all those interested in leaving Kuwait.

Meanwhile, some 30 Malaysian families have expressed their wish to continue living in Kuwait explaining the situation currently was not all that bad, he said. Explaining the need for the rescue operation in the interest of over 2,635 Malaysians living in the Arab region, including 150 in Jordan and 303 in Syria, the Ambassador said the situation is not very alarming compared to the 1991 Gulf War, but many Malaysians in Amman and Damascus have expressed their desire to leave the region.

Three fourths of Malaysians in Syria and Jordan are students whose families are concerned about their safety.

The Malaysian government is also concerned and had therefore despatched three C130 military aircraft to Dubai, even before the war broke out.

"We are grateful to the Dubai government and the Dubai Department of Civil Aviation who granted us permission to use Dubai as a base for our rescue flights," the Ambassador told reporters, expressing his gratitude to the US embassy in Abu Dhabi for extending all assistance on the issue.

Mr Al Habshee disclosed that the next phase of rescue operation will be carried out today to evacuate 60 Malaysians from Damascus, followed by another operation in Amman to evacuate 50 Malaysians from Jordan.

The RMAF operation is being executed under Mission Commander Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim Hashim, who along with his flight crew, is stationed in Dubai and has faced no major difficulty in completing successfully the first phase of the mission to Kuwait on March 22.

All evacuees will be brought to Dubai and will board the first available Malaysian Airlines flight to Kuala Lumpur. Currently, Malaysian Airlines has reduced its flights from Dubai to Kuala Lumpur from seven to five per week.

Mohammed Mustafa Abdul Aziz, Malaysian Consul General in Dubai, noted that Duabi was chosen as the onward base for the RMAF's operation as it is a safe place and business continues as usual without any disruption.

Mr Abdul Aziz remarked that the Malaysian businessmen still continue to arrive in Dubai to explore business opportunities as the UAE remains unaffected and safe under the given circumstances.