PUTRAJAYA Sept 22, 2026 – Malaysia’s Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim spoke by telephone with Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Tuesday morning before departing for China, conveying condolences over last month’s catastrophic floods and pressing for answers on 55 Malaysians still unaccounted for.
In a statement posted on X, Anwar said he expressed sympathy on behalf of Malaysians to the Nepalese government and people after the disaster that struck in late August. He also thanked Nepalese authorities and rescue teams for their efforts to locate victims, including the missing Malaysians.
Shah described conditions on the ground as extremely difficult, comparing the scale of destruction to a tsunami. The floods were triggered on 26 August by a glacier collapse and debris flow along the Nepal–Tibet border that surged down the Bhote Koshi river through Rasuwa district, destroying roads, bridges and hydropower plants and cutting communications. Thousands remain missing across Nepal and neighbouring areas of Tibet.
Anwar said he relayed the anxiety and hopes of families still waiting for news of their loved ones. He also raised the need for a formal mechanism if victims cannot be found and searches fail to produce certainty. Such a process, he said, would help families handle legal, financial and administrative matters. He will send an official letter to Shah outlining the proposal.
Shah assured him that search operations would continue despite worsening conditions. Anwar said he hoped the efforts would bring the certainty families have been waiting for.
As of mid-September, Wisma Putra still listed 55 Malaysians as uncontactable. Malaysia has sent DNA samples from next-of-kin to assist identification and earlier deployed an 11-member SMART rescue team, which has since returned. No Malaysians have been confirmed among those rescued.
The missing include fire and rescue officers on an expedition as well as members of several tour groups travelling in the affected Himalayan valleys. Families have continued to seek updates nearly four weeks after the disaster.
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