The 106 Malaysians arrived at Kuching International Airport on Dec 17 and are to be placed at the designated quarantine centre in accordance to the latest SOP issued by SDMC.
KUCHING (Dec 18): Some 106 Malaysians, including 91 Sarawakians, who were stranded in Papua New Guinea since mid-October have safely returned home on Dec 17.
Their return was facilitated by Sarawak Transport Minister Datuk Lee Kim Shin who had liaised with the federal Minister of Transport to expedite the Civil Aviation Authority Malaysia (CAAM) on the validation of the Foreign Aircraft Operators Certificate (FAOC) to the chartered flight to fly directly from Port Moresby International Airport in Papua New Guinea to Kuching International Airport.
They had the opportunity to return to Malaysia in November but Lee said the chartered flight had been postponed several times as no approval regarding validation of FAOC given from CAAM
“They used to transit in Singapore but currently Singapore does not allow transit due to Covid-19 pandemic control measurement. Therefore, the travel agency has chartered an Air Niugini Limited’s direct flight from Port Moresby International Airport (in Papua New Guinea) to Kuching International Airport.
“However, the said flight has been postponed several times from Nov 13 to 20 and again on Nov 24 due to no approval regarding validation of FAOC from CAAM.
“This has resulted some of the passengers being stranded in Port Moresby since Nov 19 while most of them were stranded across various provinces in Papua New Guinea. These Malaysians have incurred thousands of dollars for daily expenses in Papua New Guinea due to no confirmation of flight,” he said in a statement today.
Aside from that, he also coordinated with the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) to ensure smooth entry of the passengers into Sarawak, adding that upon their arrival at Kuching International Airport yesterday at around 8.50pm, they were placed at the designated quarantine centre according to the latest standard operating procedure (SOP) issued by SDMC.
Lee said the stranded Malaysians were working in Papua New Guinea under 33 companies of different sectors such as logging, retail service and office work and wanted to return home as most of them have completed their employment contract.
He said a Sarawakian on behalf of all the stranded Sarawakians sought Lee’s help by contacting him via Facebook Messenger. This has prompted him for his quick response and facilitated their return to Malaysia.
He said the Sarawakian who requested for the help had expressed his gratitude, adding that that without Lee’s help there would have been numerous postponements on the chartered flight due to unforeseen circumstances.
Lee also expressed his thanks to the federal Transport Minister and deputy minister for their fast response on his request on the validation of the FAOC and dealing with the Papua New Guinea’s airline.
“I would also like to praise SDMC for their swift action in handling all the application to enter Sarawak and arranging the precautionary SOP measures in handling the incoming 106 Malaysians coming from Papua New Guinea,” he added.
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