He said two of them departed from New Delhi and arrived at KLIA at 3.30pm, while the other seven boarded the airline from Tiruchirappalli and landed at KLIA at 6.58pm.

“With the return of the nine members, the home ministry has succeeded in bringing home 170 out of 189 tabligh members from India.

“Prior to this, 161 Malaysian tabligh members were brought home through several humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions carried out since July,” Kamaruddin said in a statement here today.

Kamarudin, who is also Covid-19 task force chairman, said all the tabligh members who returned are required to undergo a 14-day stay at the quarantine station.

As of today, he said, there were still 19 tabligh members from Malaysia in India, with 10 of them in New Delhi having gone through the legal process and been acquitted by the courts. The remaining nine are still undergoing legal procedures in Bihar, India.

He said the Malaysian High Commission in New Delhi is coordinating efforts to bring them home.

“The foreign ministry is closely monitoring the tabligh members in India and continues to provide appropriate consular assistance to ensure their rights and welfare are protected,” he said.

The foreign ministry, he said, would also continue to cooperate with local authorities in India to facilitate the repatriation of the remaining 19 tabligh members still in the country.

Kamarudin also expressed his appreciation and gratitude to all government agencies involved, especially the National Disaster Management Agency and the health ministry for their cooperation.

“The Malaysian government also thanks the Indian government for assisting us to bring home the tabligh members,” he added.