In a statement, Wisma Putra said it had taken steps to protect Malaysian students, including relocating them to the Malaysian High Commission in Dhaka.

It added that it is in continuous communication with local authorities to safeguard the interests and safety of Malaysian students in affected areas.

Despite widespread internet outages in Bangladesh, Wisma Putra said telephone and SMS services remain operational.

Immediate family members of Malaysian students in Dhaka can contact the ministry’s duty room at +603-8887-4570.

According to AFP, riot police fired on protesters defying a government-imposed curfew today, escalating violence that has claimed at least 115 lives this week.

The foreign ministry is working on repatriating four Malaysian students from Bangladesh amid the intensified protests.

It said it successfully assisted a Malaysian student from Bangladesh Agricultural University in boarding a flight yesterday who is expected to arrive in Malaysia today.

“The high commission urges all Malaysian students in need of assistance to remain in contact and cooperate with us. The safety and security of Malaysians abroad is our highest priority and we are taking action to assist our citizens.”

Reuters reported that telecommunication links in Bangladesh were widely disrupted and television news channels went off the air today.

Reuters journalists said police fired tear gas to scatter protesters in some areas. Security forces and protesters swarmed Dhaka, where there was little traffic yesterday, which is a weekly holiday in the nation.

The protests, initially driven by high youth unemployment among nearly one-fifth of the 170 million population, are now also being fuelled by broader economic issues such as high inflation, rising unemployment and dwindling foreign exchange reserves, some analysts said.