KUALA LUMPUR: Thousands of international students may be stranded in the United Kingdom if its government stops air travel.
On the heels of the Covid-19 outbreak, ex-Chevening scholar Kevin Bathman, 44, who arrived home from London on Sunday, expected “gloomy days” ahead for international students.
He said some had not bought their tickets home as they had been travelling before the sharp spikes in infection.
They are now facing grossly steep ticket prices. Worse, their student visas would expire on March 28.
“Some have returned their keys (to landlords) and are living with friends. I feel sorry for the younger students, those without resources.”
Earlier, the UK government announced that it would be coming up with emergency legislation to stop landlords from kicking out tenants, but it is unknown whether it would come into effect in time or if non-UK citizens were covered by the law.
Bathman said students’ welfare was crucial to Wisma Putra, which would have to act fast to allay fears.
“The media is saying that the UK is two weeks away from the situation in Italy. Perhaps Malaysia Airlines as the national carrier could be supportive by subsidising tickets.”
On Saturday, the National Health Service in England said 53 more people had died, with two in Wales and one in Scotland, bringing the UK death toll to 233, a rise of nearly 30 per cent in 24 hours.
Some faced issues in getting guidelines from the Malaysian High Commission there.
Last week, King’s College London master’s student Karman Elaine Cheong contacted the high commission for advice as per her university’s recommendation. She was shocked by the replies to her inquiries.
“The person manning the phone told me that there was no advice and that I would have to take care of myself. He also said the embassy can’t help me if I had contracted the virus.”
Out of desperation, Cheong said that she contacted the Singapore High Commission instead and the person manning the line gave her a list of frequently asked questions.
The embassy shared a list of their FAQs, which was issued on March 14. Malaysia only came up with its own on March 17.
“The Singaporean mission advised students to go home if arrangements had been made with their schools and even patched teleconferencing calls for them.”
She said the average one-way flight ticket price last week was RM15,000 as everyone was expecting a lockdown.
“I followed recommendations that applied to me and managed to book my ticket home on Wednesday for RM8,000.”
Cheong arrived safely on Saturday and is now under self-quarantine.
Jurin Gunsalam, 40, who lives in Sheffield with his family, is not in a hurry to return to Malaysia.
“My wife, who goes to the University of Sheffield, just has one semester left of her PhD course. I don’t mind staying now as travel, especially via airports, is risky. Such spots are hotbeds for the virus to spread.”
Meanwhile, a special flight carrying Malaysians who had been stranded in Iran — one of the countries worst affected by the Covid-19 outbreak — arrived safely from Teheran at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang yesterday.
The AirAsia flight, chartered for the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief mission, landed at 6.35am, the National Disaster Management Agency said.
It is believed that 46 Malaysians, eight Singaporeans and one Indonesian, including children, were on the flight.