The government will provide alternative assistance to foreigners living in the Selangor Mansion and Malayan Mansion flats in Jalan Masjid India here under the Enhanced Movement Control (EMCO) area.

Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the assistance was in the form of daily necessities for sale to the foreigners who were mostly from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in the area.

"We (the government) are providing alternatives to them (the foreigners) living in these two buildings so that they can go through the operations centre that has been set up.

"This will help them make food purchases but they will have to pay for whatever they need. We can help to get whatever they need," he said.

Ismail Sabri said 97 per cent of the dwellers of the two flats were foreigners. However, their welfare is under the responsibility of their own high commissions here.

"Many have asked on the issue of food donation to them. For everyone’s knowledge, 97 per cent of the residents are foreigners. I have made it clear several days ago that foreigners in our country are under the responsibility of foreign embassies.

"The Foreign Ministry has informed their embassies (high commissions) to take responsibility for the welfare of their people," Ismail said.

The EMCO in both flats has been in force since Tuesday after 15 positive cases of COVID-19 were reported there.