KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Foreign Ministry has contacted its Indian counterpart after several Malaysians were found to have been placed under quarantine in India amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the matter came to light after a video recorded by a Malaysian, who highlighted the deplorable state of the quarantine centre, went viral on social media.
“Many have asked me about the viral video of Malaysians in India yesterday. They have been quarantined by the Indian authorities because they are at an area in India that is near Markaz Nizamudin, which is a tabligh assembly area that is high risk for Covid-19.
“Wisma Putra has contacted the Indian government, particularly the Ministry of External Affairs and they have promised to give their attention and cooperation on this matter.
“Wisma Putra wants this issue to be resolved as soon as possible and we will get to the truth as to what happened. We hope this effort will be eased, insyaAllah,” said Hishammuddin on his official Facebook page today.
In the video spanning 4 minutes and 33 seconds, an unidentified man was in a classroom which was turned into a quarantine centre in New Delhi. He said he was among 12 people at a hotel who were told that they had to go to a hospital at 1am by the authorities.
He said they were told there was no need to bring their belongings and they were loaded into two ambulances. But instead of being sent to the hospital, they were sent to a quarantine centre.
In the video, the man said they were only given a thin mattress and a cloth and they had to sleep on the floor which had a thick layer of dust and the classroom was full of mosquitoes.
“We do not have anything, not even our clothes. This is terrible. A lot of people from various countries are sent here. From 1am until now, we were not given any drinks or food. Allahuakbar,” the man was heard saying.
Another man in the video, who said he was a tourist in India, lamented how disorganised the situation was at the quarantine centre, adding that there was not enough water and food.
He said they were bound to fly home but they were instead put there as they were subjected to tests.
“We do not understand. I think it is okay for us to return to Malaysia and be quarantined there. It has been a few hours and no tests are being done. We are doubtful they can take care of us. We are worried that they cannot manage and we hope the Malaysian authorities will discuss with the Indian government to allow us to go back.
“There are airplanes arriving here tomorrow and the day after. We want to go home. We hope Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin will discuss this with the higher levels to secure our release,” said the man.