85 Malaysians in Sri Lanka Reported Safe – Malaysian High Commission

A total of 85 Malaysians registered with the Malaysian High Commission in Sri Lanka were reported safe despite ongoing tensions in the country, said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah.

He said the ministry was ready to evacuate Malaysians if the situation worsened, as they continued to closely monitor ongoing developments in the country.

“We expect the situation in Sri Lanka to calm down again in the next few days after the President and Prime Minister of the country handed over power to the Speaker of the House.

“Currently, we advise Malaysians who are based in Sri Lanka to not leave their homes and to immediately contact the Malaysian embassy if necessary, especially with regard to food supply,” he said.

This was at a press conference after attending the Indera Mahkota Parliament Aidiladha sacrificial ritual at the Sungai Karang Darat Mosque here today, which involved the distribution of 43 cows to the area around the parliament.

Apart from that, those who failed to contact relatives in Sri Lanka were also urged to immediately inform the Malaysian embassy in Colombo so that they could be traced.

“We don’t expect anything bad to happen to them, it’s just that communication may have been cut off,” he said.

International media previously reported that the unrest in Sri Lanka was the result of the worst financial crisis with the country failing to repay its US $ 51 billion (RM226 billion) external debt and is currently in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for assistance.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have announced their resignations after angry protesters stormed the president’s residence on Saturday and set fire to the prime minister’s house.