54 Malaysians Still Missing After Nepal Floods: Families Present Nine Priorities, Anwar to Take Them to Cabinet
KUALA LUMPUR — Fifty-four Malaysians remain missing after flash floods and landslides struck Nepal's Rasuwa district and the Nepal-Tibet border area on August 26, destroying roads, bridges and communications. On October 20, the Malaysia Solidarity: Families in Hope (MASFIH), a group representing the missing travellers' relatives, proposed nine key priorities calling for coordinated government help with the legal and financial problems the families face. According to 8TV Mandarin News, the families said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had promised to take their proposals to the cabinet for discussion.
The missing travellers' unresolved legal status is the families' most pressing difficulty: accounts of how long they must wait before death certificates can be issued — needed to deal with banks and insurers — have ranged from 45 days to three years and even 12 years, and the families want a clear, consistent answer. Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said on October 17 that Nepal's government is seeking to amend its laws to expedite death certificates for the 54 Malaysians, and that if the amendment fails, special provisions will be made. He said the certificates are essential for families to manage banking and insurance matters.
On finances, family representatives met Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and financial institutions on October 12, seeking a six-month moratorium on eligible loans, with interest and financing charges paused and late fees waived during the period. MASFIH spokesman Manivannan Rethinam said the families were told no debt-collection action or repayment calls would be made against them pending further decisions. The group also asked each institution to appoint a senior liaison officer so families do not have to repeat paperwork with different officers, and sought the Attorney General's Chambers' help in finding a lawful way for families to access the missing persons' loan and asset information. If the legal-status question remains unresolved, the families have asked for the moratorium to be extended by a further six months.
Malaysia's Foreign Ministry confirmed on October 3 that one Malaysian who had been uncontactable for 37 days reached the Malaysian Embassy in Kathmandu and returned home safely on October 2, reducing the number still unaccounted for from 55 to 54; the 54 are reported to belong to five travel groups. After Nepal's disaster authority ended search-and-rescue operations on September 30 and moved to a search-and-recovery phase, the ministry said it would keep verifying each case, and asked the public and media to respect the families' privacy and avoid speculation. Anwar said on October 2 that Nepal's prime minister had assured full cooperation in determining the missing Malaysians' status and agreed to facilitate administrative and legal procedures for the families.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 尼泊尔喜马拉雅山区（资料图）。照片：Jmhullot 等／Wikimedia Commons（CC BY 3.0）。The Himalayas in Nepal (file photo). Photo: Jmhullot et al. / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0).
