KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 — The Higher Education Ministry is to collaborate with the Foreign Ministry to provide every assistance, including counselling, accommodation and logistics support, to Malaysians brought back from strife-torn Bangladesh.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir said MOHE welcomes and is grateful for the government’s decision through the National Security Council (MKN) and Wisma Putra to evacuate all Malaysians in Bangladesh due to the escalating tensions in the country.

"As informed by Wisma Putra, the evacuation process will be carried out urgently and also involves over 124 Malaysian students affected there.

"Let us pray that this evacuation process goes smoothly and that all Malaysians in Bangladesh arrive home safely,” he said in a Facebook post yesterday.

Earlier yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the government decided to bring back Malaysians in Bangladesh because it prioritised their safety due to the escalating tensions in the country.

He said the decision was made following Wisma Putra’s monitoring of the latest developments in Bangladesh.

Thousands of students in Bangladesh have been protesting since July 1 after a court reinstated the quota for public sector jobs that had been abolished in 2018.

The Bangladesh government imposed a nationwide curfew last Saturday in response to the increasing violence and demonstrations. — Bernama