Malaysia continues efforts to trace 54 Malaysians uncontactable after the Aug 26 Rasuwa floods in Nepal, even though Nepal has called off its search operations.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is continuing efforts to trace 54 Malaysians who remain uncontactable following devastating floods in Rasuwa, Nepal, on Aug 26, despite the Nepalese government having called off its search and rescue operations.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the Malaysian Embassy in Kathmandu remained in contact with local authorities and trekking registration centres to review travel records and the last known locations of mobile phones in a bid to uncover any new information about their whereabouts.
“Our embassy in Kathmandu is still working to contact local authorities and trekking centres and posts where people register for general tracking.
“We will continue our efforts to trace them until we reach a point where there is no further avenue left for us to pursue,” he said during the Minister’s Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.
He was responding to a question from Datuk Mohd Suhaimi Abdullah (PN-Langkawi) on the latest status of Malaysians who remained uncontactable following flash floods in Nepal’s Rasuwa district in August.
Mohamad said that of the 5,285 individuals classified as missing and unaccounted for following the disaster, 636 were foreign nationals from 34 countries, including the 54 Malaysians.
He said Malaysia had previously deployed a Special Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) to Nepal from Sept 5 to 11, equipped with nine high-performance drones to assist in search operations. However, the steep terrain and damage caused by the disaster had hampered the efforts.
Mohamad said the Malaysian government was also seeking a special ordinance from the Nepalese government to reduce the waiting period for issuing death certificates for individuals missing in the disaster from 12 years to 45 days.
He said the documents were important to enable next of kin to settle insurance claims, bank accounts and other official matters. The government was now reviewing the proposed ordinance to ensure it could help the affected Malaysian families.
On Aug 26, flash floods and landslides struck Nepal’s Rasuwa district and the Nepal-Tibet border area following heavy rain, damaging infrastructure, disrupting communications and hampering search and rescue operations.
The Foreign Ministry had previously said that one Malaysian reported uncontactable after the disaster had safely returned home on Oct 2, leaving 54 Malaysians still uncontactable.
Meanwhile, Mohamad urged Malaysians travelling abroad to register their travel details, destinations and contact numbers through the e-Konsular application to enable the ministry and Malaysian embassies to reach them in emergencies.
In reply to a supplementary question from Datuk Mohd Isam Mohd Isa (BN-Tampin) on measures to increase registration through e-Konsular, he said just over 6,000 Malaysians had registered through the application in 2025, despite the much higher number travelling overseas.
“e-Konsular serves as a data and information centre through which the Foreign Ministry can communicate with Malaysians, particularly those residing abroad or travelling overseas to visit family or for holidays.
“When we have their information, it is easier for us to reach them. Whatever we need to convey, or whatever incident occurs, we can contact them, and they can also get in touch with our embassies,” he said.