AS we know, many countries like Malaysia have tightened their borders due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This has made travel even in an emergency r near impossible. We have all read or heard about the pleas of parents and the public to the authorities to help bring back their loved ones from overseas during this lockdown period. I must congratulate the Foreign Affairs Ministry on its successful missions to bring our citizens homes, especially from India.

Yesterday, I received messages on Twitter and WhatsApp from Malaysians students currently in the UK. Most of the messages were from front-liner-colleagues who are furthering their education in England. I was not only shocked but alarmed to hear what they had to tell me.

A message read “ Do you know of any Malaysians in the UK who are keen to go back at the end of May?”. When I enquired, I found out the following:

1. Malaysian students in the UK (mostly) have valid student visas up to May 31, 2020. Some which were renewed in February were given an extension only until the end of May 2020

2. Those who attempted to renew their student visas beyond May were denied by the Home Office. They are expected to leave the UK before their visas expire (some said they might be given a leeway of a few days, thereafter, they will face punitive action for overstaying)

3. They are not able to book/obtain any flight tickets home because there are no flights back to Malaysia from London

4. They have the following “options” to return:
i. To fly to Istanbul then to Malaysia. However Turkey has recently blocked entries from the UK (including connecting flights)
ii. To fly to Qatar, face a 24-48 hour wait for connecting flight to KLIA
iii. To fly to Singapore where entry is blocked due to their circuit breaker restrictions. 

5. Some students and their families have attempted to contact the High Commission of Malaysia in London to assist them with the issue. They were informed that the High Commission had received 1,500 requests from students to return home within the next two months

To make matters worse, the students will be sitting for their exams on May 25-29 and they are distracted by this problem. Those fortunate enough to have their spouse or family with them will have some relief as they can leave them to solve this as they focus on studying. I can only imagine those without any family who might be suffering emotionally especially over what will happen to them after May 31. Since receiving those messages, there has been a small movement (Malaysians) trying to gather details of those who want to go back by the end of the month. To my knowledge, in the last 24 hours, they have already received about confirmation from 30 individuals ready to return home. 

I urge our Malaysians authorities especially the Foreign Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Hussein to look into this and get our Malaysians back safely. One can only imagine what they must be undergoing at the moment. It is only fair that they get a direct flight back to Malaysia (no connecting flights; this reduces contact/exposure and is a Covid-19 safety move) so that they can begin their compulsory screening and two-week quarantine before they can return to their families. Please act quickly to spare them misery and allow them to focus on their exams without any unwelcome distractions. – May 15, 2020.

* Dr Arvinder-Singh HS is a medical officer pursuing a PhD in community health.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.