Wednesday, February 23, 2011

LOCAL NEWS ; Ops Room To Track Malaysians Unregistered With New Zealand Mission

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian operations room in Christchurch is to ascertain whether any Malaysian unregistered with the Malaysian mission in New Zealand is missing in the aftermath of Tuesday's earthquake there.

The first secretary of the Malaysian High Commission in New Zealand, Nur Ayuni Zainal Abidin, said Wednesday all the 172 Malaysian citizens registered with the mission and 390 Malaysian students registered with the Malaysian Students Department were safe.

"At the moment, the police do not want to release any information. Tomorrow, we will get a clearer picture," she told Bernama when contacted.

A 6.3-magniture earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand's second biggest city, at 12.51pm (7.51am in Malaysia) Tuesday, killing 65 people and trapping scores more in collapsed buildings.

"We are now tracking the actual number of Malaysians who are here, as residents or tourists," she said.

Nur Ayuni said disruption in the communication system and lack of food and water were the major causes of concern in Christchurch because many shops were either destroyed or closed following the quake.

However, based on information from the local authorities, shops selling essential goods were expected to reopen Thursday.

"Some of the Malaysian students have initiated rescue missions and bought food such as bread and tuna to meet their needs," she said.
The Malaysian operations room, run by the high commission and the Malaysian Students Department, is located at Riccarton Village Inn, 106 Mandeville Street, Riccarton 8011, New Zealand.

Nur Ayuni can be contacted at 021 021 55266, Lt Col Ahmad Faiezzelan Abd Karim at 021 857 467, Dzulkefly Mustapha at 021 102 2642 and Nor Ruzaini Jailani at 021 322 708.