About 4,000 Malaysian visitors are said to be stranded in Hatyai and other parts of Songkhla in southern Thailand following days of heavy rain. (X pic)
PETALING JAYA: Heavy vehicles may be deployed to help Malaysians stranded in Hatyai to return home, deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today.
About 4,000 Malaysians are reported to be stranded in Hatyai and several parts of Songkhla province in Thailand because of floods, with heavy rain expected to continue today.
Zahid said the foreign ministry and the Thai government are coordinating efforts to assist the stranded Malaysians.
“They want to return home quickly, and we may provide heavy vehicles to transport them so they can return to their respective areas,” Bernama quoted him as saying after officiating a health roadshow in Bagan Datuk, Perak, today.
He also said Malaysian authorities will work with Songkhla governor Ratthasart Chidchoo to channel assistance to Malaysians there.
Thai prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered urgent relief operations in the country’s flood-hit southern provinces, directing officials to prioritise assistance for bedridden residents and those with limited mobility as flooding continues to affect tens of thousands.
Anutin travelled to Hatyai yesterday, where he visited multiple inundated areas to assess the damage firsthand, spoke with affected families, and urged faster delivery of aid.
Besides Hatyai in Songkhla province, the flooding has affected Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Trang, Phatthalung, Satun and Pattani, Bernama reported.
