The SMART team departed for Nepal last Saturday with 12.4 tonnes of search-and-rescue equipment. Its deployment was initially scheduled to last 10 days.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) may return from Nepal as early as today or tomorrow as authorities assess whether the team still has a role to play in the ongoing search for thousands of missing people.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the team’s commander would first submit an assessment before the government decides whether to extend its deployment or provide further assistance.
Mohamad said Nepal had no plans to formally end its search-and-rescue operation, with about 5,000 people still classified as missing.
He said Nepalese authorities were reluctant to declare the operation over as this could trigger public pressure and other local issues.
“Let the SMART team make its report to the government on the next step. We do not want to rush or make a hasty decision,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the 2026 Umno General Assembly.
Mohamad said the search had been made difficult by thick layers of mud and sand, with entire houses and buildings buried.
He said Nepalese security and rescue agencies were currently conducting the search, but Malaysia remained ready to provide assistance if requested.
“If they need assistance from Malaysia, we can consider it positively so that we can help with rescue work or search operations,” he said.
The SMART team departed for Nepal last Saturday with 12.4 tonnes of search-and-rescue equipment. Its deployment was initially scheduled to last 10 days.
Meanwhile, Mohamad said Malaysia was also negotiating with Nepal on arrangements to assist the families of Malaysians who remain unaccounted for.
He said Nepal currently required three years before a death certificate could be issued for a person who could not be found, compared with seven years previously required in Malaysia.
Malaysia is seeking a mechanism that would allow the next of kin of missing Malaysians to obtain documentation confirming their disappearance so matters such as insurance claims can be settled sooner.
Mohamad said the Malaysian embassy in Nepal had been instructed to engage the Nepalese Law Ministry on the matter.
He also said Malaysia was seeking cooperation to send DNA experts to Nepal or have DNA samples collected from recovered victims sent to Kuala Lumpur for identification.
He said Nepal was facing shortages of facilities and equipment needed for DNA matching.
Malaysia had already collected DNA samples from immediate family members of missing Malaysians to facilitate identification.
Floods and landslides that struck along the Nepal-Tibet border on Aug 26 have claimed more than 1,400 lives, while thousands remain missing, according to Nepali and Chinese authorities.
