Nepal working on expediting death certs for missing Malaysians

The Nepali government is working on speeding up the issuance of death certificates for Malaysians still missing in the country’s flash floods in August, says foreign minister Mohamad Hasan.

Mohamad said Nepal was seeking to amend its laws, which now require a waiting period of up to three years before death certificates can be issued for people who remain missing after a disaster, to 45 days.

He said he was briefed on the progress of the move by representatives of the Nepali embassy who called on him last week.

“The Nepali government is pursuing the legal amendments and will table them to parliament. Failing that, it will make special arrangements to ensure death certificates can be issued without delay for the 54 Malaysians who remain unreachable,” Bernama quoted him as saying on the sidelines of an event in Melaka today.

He said the death certificates were necessary for the victims’ families to manage their affairs, including matters involving banks and insurance companies.

On Aug 26, flash floods and landslides hit Nepal’s Rasuwa district and the area near its border with Tibet after heavy rain.

At least 1,454 people were killed and 5,285 missing in Nepal. There were also 43 deaths and 519 missing in Tibet.

The next of kin of the 54 missing Malaysians have submitted a structured financial rescue plan to Bank Negara Malaysia, while the Nepali government works on legal changes to expedite their death certificates.

On a separate matter, Mohamad said Malaysia was awaiting a decision by the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) and the National Security Council (MKN) on aid that could be extended to tackle forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan, Indonesia.

He said the outcome of the discussions would be brought to the Cabinet for approval, while efforts to extinguish the fires remained challenging because they were burning in remote areas amid thick haze.

“Visibility is below 50m and the air pollutant index in Kalimantan has reached 1,000,” he said, adding that Malaysia would assess the risks before deciding on air support.

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