KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is awaiting details of a proposed special order by Nepal to speed up the issuance of death certificates for 54 Malaysians who remain missing after the Rasuwa disaster in August.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the documents were needed for the victims’ next-of-kin to handle matters such as insurance claims, bank accounts and other legal affairs.
He said Nepal’s existing law requires a lengthy process before a missing person can be issued a death certificate.
However, Nepal’s Prime Minister had agreed to introduce a special executive order or ordinance to shorten the process to 45 days for those affected by the disaster.
“The 45-day period has passed. We want to look at the contents of the ordinance and give our input so that it is comprehensive and can be used to obtain death certificates for Malaysians who are missing,” Mohamad told the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (Oct 22).
He was replying to Datuk Mohd Suhaimi Abdullah (PN-Langkawi), who asked about the latest status of Malaysians who could not be contacted following the Aug 26 disaster in Rasuwa.
Mohamad said the government was working with Bank Negara Malaysia, the Attorney General’s Chambers, the National Registration Department and other agencies to assist the next of kin.
He said the agencies had met families of the missing Malaysians and would help them with banking, insurance and other related matters once the required documents were issued.
“A one-stop centre approach is being taken so that families do not have to go from one agency to another,” he said.
Mohamad said 5,285 people were still listed as missing after the disaster, including 636 foreign nationals from 34 countries. Of the foreign nationals, 54 are Malaysians.
He added that Malaysia’s diplomatic ties with Nepal remained unaffected, with both countries continuing to work closely on the matter.
