“I feel safer in M’sia” – British Man Stranded in M’sia for During COVID-19 Says Locals Made Him Feel at Home

A recent post has caught the attention of Malaysians after a British man shared some of his “craziest memories” of getting stranded in Malaysia during the pandemic.

Taking to Threads, Darren (@remotedarren) recalled arriving in Malaysia just a week before the country went into lockdown.

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British man says he’s grateful he ended up in Malaysia

Darren shared that he had tried to leave Malaysia several times, but his flights kept getting cancelled due to the lockdown.

“The country went into lockdown. I tried leaving several times, but flights kept getting cancelled. Once, I was already halfway to KLIA and passing through police roadblocks when I found out that my flight to London had been cancelled.”

Despite the challenges, Darren said he was still grateful that he ended up staying in Malaysia.

“I eventually gave up trying to leave and ended up staying for 14 months under the visa waiver scheme. Crazy times, but to this day, I’m still thankful I found myself in Malaysia.

“When the state borders reopened, I travelled around Malaysia by bus for eight weeks. There were only a few people on the buses and hardly any tourists because the international borders were still closed. I loved that,” his caption read.

“I felt safer in Malaysia”

Darren, who’s now residing in Malaysia, also spoke fondly of the locals, whom he said treated him really well. He even recalled meeting people who offered him food while he was travelling by bus.

Speaking to WORLD OF BUZZ, he also shared that he felt safer in Malaysia due to the lower number of COVID-19 cases and deaths compared to the United Kingdom (UK).

“It was scary at first. I was alone, and all my family were back home in England. But when I watched the news, I realised I was much safer in Malaysia. I remember using the MySejahtera app to check in everywhere.

“I felt safer in Malaysia due to the data. There were fewer deaths and cases than back home in the UK. I was thankful that I was looked after and that my visa was extended because I couldn’t return home or travel anywhere.”

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Darren added that many others were in a similar situation at the time, making it a stressful period as they never knew whether the visa waiver scheme would be extended from one month to the next.

“I didn’t have to worry about putting my health at risk by being forced to find a way home, which was incredibly difficult. I followed the SOPs and made sure I kept myself safe. I was genuinely very lucky,” he added.

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Also read: Foreigner Praises M’sia for Making All Major Religious Celebrations a Public Holiday Unlike the UK