IPOH, March 5 (Bernama) — The Perak government plans to charter a plane to send back 696 students from the state who were evacuated from Egypt following the turmoil in the country.

Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said it was the better option and that another being considered was defraying the return fare at RM2,000 per student on commercial flights.

“On top of this the Perak Islamic Religious Council will also give each student RM500 pocket money to help them get started when they returned to Egypt,” he told reporters after a meeting with all the students involved at his official residence on Saturday.

He added that it would cost the state government RM1.5 million to pay for the return passage for the students