{
  "id": 13280973,
  "title": "Malaysians missing in Nepal — families in Catch-22 situation",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/10/malaysians-missing-in-nepal-families-in-catch-22-situation",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-10T01:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2026/10/10/malaysians-missing-in-nepal-families-in-catch-22-situation"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "When news broke of the glacial and flood disaster in Nepal on August 26, Dr. Manivannan Rethinam's first thoughts were for his sister Komathi, who was on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash. Together with her husband, they tried to reach her but failed. Komathi is among 54 Malaysians still listed as missing in the disaster. As the families of the missing struggle to cope, they face a Catch-22 situation. Without a death certificate, they cannot access joint bank accounts, the victim's EPF savings, sell family homes, or cancel hire purchase contracts. The banks can only express sympathy for their loss, and without a death certificate, no payout can be made by insurance companies. Compounding the agony is the legal inconsistency between Malaysia and Nepal, with Malaysian law requiring a missing person to be declared dead after seven years, while Nepal only requires three years. The families are left with no choice but to return assets such as cars to banks, leading to additional penalties and charges. The silence surrounding the situation is particularly agonising, as next-of-kin cannot obtain any information about their loved ones' financial accounts due to strict confidentiality laws. The affected families are pleading for Bank Negara to intervene, freezing payments, waiving penalties, and suspending repossessions until the legal status of their loved ones is resolved.",
  "summary": "Government must consider emergency legislative measures to address legal discrepancies in times of disaster and mechanisms for insurance companies and financial institutions to provide appropriate interim assistance to affected families.",
  "key_points": [
    "54 Malaysians missing in Nepal glacial and flood disaster",
    "Families face Catch-22 situation with no death certificate",
    "Malaysian law requires 7-year declaration of death vs Nepal's 3-year"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The families of Malaysians missing in Nepal face financial hardship and bureaucratic hurdles due to their inability to obtain a death certificate, leaving them unable to access bank accounts, savings, and other assets.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Nepal cuts wait period to declare missing flood victims dead",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/nepal-cuts-wait-period-to-declare-missing-flood-victims-dead",
        "published": "2026-10-09T23:55:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}