PUTRAJAYA: As the search for Malaysians missing in the Nepal-China border disaster entered its ninth day, the family of one traveller has urged the government to be realistic and transparent about the chances of finding survivors.
Dr R. Manivannan, whose sister Komathi is among 55 Malaysians still unaccounted for following floods and landslides, said families needed detailed and specific updates on efforts to locate their loved ones.
“If the objective is still to locate survivors, the likelihood is now extremely low.
“Even if some of our family members survived the initial flood, surviving for nine days without adequate food, water and shelter would be extraordinarily difficult,” he told the New Straits Times.
Manivannan said the government should explain the present objectives of the proposed deployment of the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (Smart), including whether it would focus on locating survivors, recovery efforts or identification.
“If the objective is now primarily to locate and recover the missing, then we also need to recognise the reality of the situation,” he said, adding that recovery and identification could become increasingly difficult as time passed.
He said families should not be left to interpret broad updates and needed to know the concrete measures being taken on the ground.
“What matters to us now is not the optics of deployment or simply having personnel on the ground.
“What matters is what concrete action can still be taken to locate, recover and identify our loved ones, and to provide answers to their families,” he said.
Manivannan said families were still awaiting a promised letter confirming that their relatives remained missing, which he said would assist them with documentation and other necessary arrangements.
Flash floods and landslides struck Nepal’s Rasuwa district near its border with Tibet, China, on Aug 26, cutting off roads and damaging access routes in the mountainous area where the Malaysian travellers were believed to have been heading.
Malaysia’s embassy in Kathmandu has been coordinating with Nepalese authorities, while Putrajaya has sought Nepal’s approval to deploy the Smart team. The team remains on standby.
-NST
