Malaysian government paying for everything

Sat, Feb 05, 2011
New Straits Times

CAIRO: All expenses for the evacuation of Malaysian students from Egypt, including airport taxes, are being borne by the government, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom said. He urged all parties to stop spreading rumors that the government would charge students who were flown to Malaysia via Jeddah.

"Please do not politicize the evacuation process as we are paying all the expenses, including the US$100 (S$127) airport tax for each student," he said at the Malaysian embassy here yesterday.

Rumors circulating on the Internet have also claimed that the government was only transferring government-sponsored students to Jeddah, while others were left on their own to leave Cairo and Alexandria.

Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister A. Kohilan Pillay, who is also here, said all students in Egypt, whether they were government-sponsored or not, were being transferred to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, under the evacuation exercise that started on Thursday.

He said the government was forking out millions of ringgit for this mammoth task.

"We pay for everything, from airport tax, landing rights to air tickets. We have also arranged coaches to pick students up from their hostels and their given addresses.

"They are all Malaysians. It does not matter if they are government-sponsored or not. Their safety is our main concern."

Kohilan, who flew to Cairo on Tuesday night, said all 11,700 students registered with the Malaysian embassy in Egypt were in the process of being transferred through air, land and sea in stages.

He said the MV Bunga Mas 5 ship could transfer some 520 people at one go to Jeddah, while the Charlie 3 aircraft had begun evacuating students since yesterday.

He said some had bought air tickets to other countries before flying back to Malaysia. "Some have up to five tickets and will fly on any plane they get first."

- New Straits Times

Source: New Straits Times.
Link: http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Malaysia/Story/A1Story20110205-262014.html.