Subani’s Pakistani husband returned home for work in January but has since been unable to fly back here because of Malaysia’s border restrictions following the Covid-19 pandemic.
With her second child suffering from a brain lesion and a heart problem, and her youngest daughter having a cyst near her vocal cords, her husband is not the only reason she is desperate to return to Pakistan.
“We were supposed to travel to Pakistan in June to get treatment for our second daughter’s health problems because her doctor and all her records are there.
“She can’t get health insurance here because she has too many problems. She was only 900gm when she was born, and the waiting time at government hospitals to see a specialist can be really long,” she said.
Subani said her daughter had been travelling to Pakistan frequently since 2017 as her health problems needed monitoring and check-ups.
She said her husband’s applications to return to Malaysia had been denied, and despite her entire family having long-term visas to enter Pakistan, their requests had been rejected three times.
On their fourth try, their application was put on hold for two months without any decision, “so I had to cancel it and reapply”.
“He (her husband) got his approval in April, but that was revoked when Malaysia barred travellers from Pakistan and some other countries in the area. Even when they weren’t barred, in September, his application was rejected.”
She said allowing Malaysians to leave the country was a huge relief for her family, both because her daughters would finally be able to get the medical attention they need and because their family could be a unit once more.
“We’re very grateful that this is finally happening. It means the world to us to be able to see my husband again.
“We have all missed him so much. The kids cry almost every night, wondering when they will see their father. It’s been very difficult having to manage everything on my own.”
Subani has begun looking for direct flights to Pakistan and hopes to be able to reunite her family in the next week or so.