SEPANG, July 24 — Malaysian students in Bangladesh expressed their gratitude for being able to return home safely following escalating tensions in the country which were not expected to end anytime soon.
First-year Bangladesh Agriculture University student, Fairuz Awatif Ismail, 31, told Bernama on arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 2 here yesterday that in this period of uncertainty, students went out in groups, especially in the mornings, to buy their basic necessities.
She said she was upset because there was a strike by lecturers earlier this month and the situation was not over, and now she had to face the tensions following student protests, adding that the internet was blocked and electricity supply cut, and these had entered its fifth day yesterday.
Thousands of students in Bangladesh have been protesting since the beginning of this month after a court reinstated the quota for public sector jobs which had been abolished in 2018.
The decision saw clashes between students and security forces, and the Bangladesh government imposed a nationwide curfew in response to increased violence and demonstrations that claimed more than 130 lives.
UCSI University Bangladesh provost Chan Joe Jim said the situation there is like a Covid-19 pandemic, but the difference is that communication links are blocked.
“It is very difficult to communicate and this is unusual in modern times,” he said.
Chan, who was posted to Bangladesh in August last year, said he, his wife and two children are fortunate as their residence is located in the diplomatic area.
“We hoping to go back and are awaiting the green light from the High Commission of Malaysia in Dhaka,” he said.
Another student, Mohd Haziq Syahmi, 32, said the situation was not only a test on physical endurance but also mental endurance considering he went through five consecutive days without communication or the internet on the top of a curfew.
The Mymensingh Medical College final-year student said that as the representative of Malaysian students in Bangladesh, he was always in touch with the Malaysian High Commission to get latest developments on the evacuation process.
A total of 123 Malaysians, including 80 students, arrived home safely from Bangladesh on special AirAsia flight AK76, which landed at KLIA Terminal 2 at 4.56pm yesterday. — Bernama
