Touch and go out of Khartoum

IT was a crisis that even caught the attention of the Yang Di Pertuan Agong. For Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir it was his first real test as the Foreign Minister.

The mission: to bring home 30 Malaysians working and studying in Sudan after the country was thrown into political turmoil and security unrest following clashes between two military factions. And not only that, several countries also sought Malaysia’s assistance in evacuating their citizens.

When news broke, a task force immediately swung into action on April 15. The Ops Sudan task force in Putrajaya was quickly in contact and getting daily ground reports from the relatively small operation of three people at the Malaysian embassy in Khartoum.

“At one time when the ambassador was online with Putrajaya, gunshots could be heard,”said one diplomat.

This was later confirmed by Malaysians interviewed on their return from Sudan, who lived with the constant sound of gunfire and explosions.

It was a difficult and complex mission. The fighting started in the capital city and quickly made movement difficult, especially getting onto the route to the international airport. Roadblocks were all over the city.

Ambassador Razdan Jamil said the embassy needed to do a lot of risk assessment and to consider the safest route to get Malaysians out of Khartoum to Port Sudan.

“We needed to take a route not contested by either military faction. So we had to take a very long route, about 1,300km, rather than the shorter one that went through several contested areas. We also needed to hire drivers from the region who were familiar with the terrain and the security officers that were on duty.

“There were many checkpoints. Approximately every 50km to 80km there was a checkpoint and we did not know who was in control of these checkpoints. Alhamdullilah, the checkpoints turned out to be controlled by government forces and our drivers knew the personnel.

“It was a touch and go situation, especially the first 150km. We were very vigilant and travelled cautiously. We were initially protected by a convoy of the UAE government and that brought some comfort to us,” Razdan said on his arrival home.

Back in Putrajaya, the taskforce, with representatives from the National Security Council, Home Ministry, Prime Minister’s Department and PETRONAS, was also doing its assessment and finding the best way to bring the Malaysians back, including possibility of a chartered flight out of Sudan.

The Sudan conflict received the attention of Istana Negara. In a rare response Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah implored the government to be ready to bring Malaysians home as soon as possible.

The King’s good relations with countries like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia also came into play as they offered assistance to the evacuation mission. Wisma Putra was also in contact with several other countries including China, the United States, Turkiye and Qatar as well as the United Nations to help in the evacuation process.

It is during crises like these that the competency and personal relationships of diplomats can set into motion decisions with consequences for the life or death of many.

Finally, an agreement was reached on a decision to return all registered Malaysians home, with the immediate priority being to exfiltrate them from Khartoum.

Wisma Putra has in place an emergency and evacuation plan for all missions and, depending on the situation, a colour coded template is used depending on the crisis level.

Each crisis situation is also given categories with one as the safest situation, no need for evacuation; when it reaches three, it is time to evacuate. In Sudan’s case the situation quickly turned from amber to red, which calls for immediate evacuation. This was made worse when the PETRONAS complex where the embassy was located was taken by force.

For the 30 Malaysians who went through the five-day journey via bus, ship and airplane, it was a nightmarish and harrowing experience that will remain etched in their memory.

One of the Malaysians interviewed live on Astro Awani said what he went through was surreal.

“There has always been civil unrest but this time it ballooned into something else. We packed our things and moved to the ambassador’s house (from the PETRONAS complex) after several days. It was a 20-minute journey but believe me, for most of us it was the longest 20 minutes of our lives,” he said.

Amid the tears and joy at the KL International Airport when the group returned home, credit must be given to the Foreign Ministry in successfully handling a dangerous and complex situation.

The ministry gave regular updates and Zambry, who was very much involved from day one, gave constant information to the media and public via social media.

It is best to remind everybody that this type of emergency evacuation involves a lot of money. Sure, no price tag should be put on human lives but the truth is Wisma Putra should be given more allocation for work which is mostly unseen.

A crisis can erupt anywhere, anytime, and involve not just war but other calamities that need Wisma Putra’s quick action. Do our frontliners overseas have the necessary protection, such as war insurance coverage, or are they provided with bulletproof vests when they are assigned to conflict areas?

How do we expect a ministry to function well when it is not given the necessary budget?