PETALING JAYA: The final batch of Malaysian students returned from Egypt yesterday, bringing closure to the government-led evacuation effort dubbed Ops Piramid.
The 12-day mission, which began on Feb 3, saw a total of 8,341 Malaysians evacuated from Cairo.
Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Richard Riot welcomed the 439 students who arrived at 9am on a Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight at the KL International Airport (KLIA) yesterday.
Also at the airport to greet the students were Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, MAS managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tengku Azmil Zahruddin and national Security Council secretary Datuk Mohamed Tajudeen Abdul Wahab.
Riot said the expenditure to bring back the citizens and students was not a factor for the Government because the safety of the Malaysians was far more important.
He thanked all quarters involved in the exercise, including MAS, budget carrier AirAsia and the Royal Malaysian Air Force, as well as the Saudi Arabian government which helped to fly back a number of Malaysians without imposing any charges.
Tengku Azmil credited the success of the evacuation process to the fine collaboration among the Malaysian Government, the private sector and foreign agencies.
“We are honoured to be able to contribute to such an important mission and hope for swift resolution and normalisation of the situation in Egypt,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry closed the operations secretariat room for Ops Piramid at 4pm yesterday. Those seeking information can contact the ministry at 03-88874570 during office hours.
read more @ the star:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/2/15/nation/8064214&sec=nation
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