The Malaysian Insight

THE three Malaysian students who were arrested by police in Manchester, UK, following the suicide bomb attack at the Manchester Arena on May 22 have expressed their fear of returning to study, Foreign Affairs deputy minister Reezal Merican said.

He said the students were still traumatised by the arrest, even though they only spent few hours in detention. The trio, two of whom are Mara sponsored, are in Malaysia to be with their families and receive counselling.

“They were affected and traumatised by the whole episode. So they are back to be with their families,” said Reezal.

With Islamophobic crime rising fivefold since the London bridge attack, Malaysians in the UK are also feeling the effects, Reezal said in response to a question posed Setiu MP Tuan Che Mohamad Zulkifly Jusoh on steps taken by the government to ensure the safety of Malaysian students there.

“The Foreign Ministry always engage with the Malaysian community living there and at the same time giving necessary consular aid to those in need,” said Reezal, adding the ministry has also told Malaysians abroad to adhere to local regulations and to respect local sensitivities.

“Malaysians are also urged to register with national representatives in their respective countries to allow better co-ordination and aid if anything unexpected happens,” said Reezal.

There are currently 70,000 Malaysians in UK and the majority of them are in London. Approximately 18,100 of these are students.

London was hit by three terror attacks in the first half of this year. The latest was on June 19, when 15 people were killed and at least 59 injured.

On May 22, suicide bomber Salman Abedi killed 22 people and injured 116 after he blew himself up at an Ariana Grande concert held at Manchester Arena.

The Metropolitan Police reported a rise in Islamophobic incidents in London, from 343 in 2016 to 1,260 in 2017.

Greater Manchester Police also reported that Islamophobia-related crime had increased by 505% after the Manchester Arena attack.

There were 224 reports of hate crime against Muslims in June 2017, compared to 37 reports over the same period last year. – July 25, 2017.