PETALING JAYA, May 26 (Sin Chew Daily) — A pair of mother and daughter from China have been stranded here in Malaysia for more than 64 days due to the lockdown.

They are now seeking help to return to China.

Madam Xiang, 56 and her 89-year-old mother, both physically and mentally drained, seek help from Sin Chew Daily as they look forward to reunite with their family in China.

Xiang and her mother entered Malaysia from Indonesia on March 17, just a day before the country imposed Movement Control Order (MCO). They have been paying close attention to flight schedules but all flights have been canceled.

Her mother's medication is running out too. Xiang is getting more worried as the day goes by.

"My only wish now is to return to China with my mother. I have tried many ways but I have run out of ideas now.

"Who can help us to go back to China?"

Xiang said she had bought AirAsia flight tickets to fly home on June 1. But few days ago, she was notified of the flight cancellation.

"If we were to buy the air tickets to leave Malaysia in July, this means we are going to stay here for another month. Based on our situation, we are no longer able to stay on for another month,'' she said.

Malaysians who learned about her plight came forward to help her, including the owner and staff of the homestay. She was moved by Malaysians' generosity.

Xiang said she visited her granddaughter's family in Bali, Indonesia, during Chinese New Year and planned to travel around the region with her mother. Due to the spread of COVID-19, Indonesia stopped flying to China after they arrived in Bali.

Both of them boarded a flight from Bali to Kuala Lumpur and planned to stay here for a night before taking another flight back to China.

Due to language barrier, she was unable to find transport to the airport the following day. A kind-hearted Malay helped her look for a homestay after Malaysia imposed the MCO.

The homestay operator also helped Xiang and her mother to buy necessities from a supermarket nearby.

Xiang said she had bought many air tickets and all of them had been canceled. Once she bought a ticket to Hong Kong but the airline company refused to allow them to board the flight as they did not have any related documents to enter Hong Kong.

Xiang said she would have collapsed if not because she needed to look after her mother.

All she wanted was to return to China with the mother as soon as possible, even if she had to borrow money to buy the air tickets.

The Embassy of China in Malaysia was alerted of their plight and is now extending help to them.

Chinese nationals are urged to contact the Embassy at 03-2164 5301 should they need help.