REMBAU: Only five Malaysians, comprising four students and a businessman, have opted to remain in Iran, says Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
He said they had signed a letter of undertaking to stay put despite the government’s call for all Malaysians there to leave the country amid escalating conflict.
“The evacuation process for Malaysians in Iran has been completed and they have returned home on June 21.
“I have ordered all Malaysians in Iran to return, most of whom are in Teheran.
“However, four students are still there,” he said.
Of the four Malaysian students, three are in Qom and one in Esfahan. The whereabouts of the businessman were not provided.
On June 22, a total of 24 individuals, comprising 17 Malaysians, six Iranian nationals who are dependents of Malaysian citizens and a Singaporean arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport via Malaysia Airlines flight MH781.
The evacuation process involved an overland journey of 1,120km to the Iran-Turkmenistan border.
Meanwhile, Mohamad said Malaysia would forge collaboration with Indonesia to explore economic development in the maritime border area between Malaysia and Indonesia in Ambalat, Bernama reported.
He said although the area involved was still under negotiation between the two countries, Malaysia did not want this resource-rich region to be neglected.
“Yesterday (Friday), Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto came close to reaching an agreement.
“The technical committee is now tasked with promptly identifying ways to finalise the deal so both countries can benefit from the natural resources there,” he said.
The minister said the cooperation to be undertaken might be in the form of joint development, similar to that in the Gulf of Siam with Thailand.
“Although it (Ambalat) is an overlapping area, we share common interests in developing the region,” Mohamad said.
Following their meeting on Friday, Anwar and Prabowo had expressed Malaysia and Indonesia’s commitment to accelerate strategic cooperation in various fields, including joint development in the maritime border area of Malaysia and Indonesia in Ambalat in a peaceful and mutually beneficial manner.
The Prime Minister was in Jakarta for a one-day official visit.
