BAGAN DATUK, Dec 1 — The Malaysian Armed Forces has been mobilising its three, five, and seven-ton trucks to three states badly hit by floods to ferry Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination candidates between dormitories and examination centres since yesterday.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also the National Disaster Management Committee chairman, said this is to ensure candidates in Kelantan, Terengganu, and Kedah are able to be at the exam centres at the appointed time.
"I made this decision as Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek asked that they (the candidates) be ferried by the Armed Forces trucks; this has been done since yesterday in three states: Kelantan, Terengganu, and Kedah," he said during a press conference after officiating the Bagan Datuk district-level Sejahtera Social One Stop Centre programme today,
Zahid said there were 3,011 candidates in Kelantan, 1,734 in Terengganu, and 532 in Kedah, who will sit for the exam starting tomorrow, and that 174 schools nationwide are affected by floods, with Kelantan having the most at 80 schools, followed by 62 schools in Terengganu, and 14 schools in Kedah.
Also, 396 temporary relief centres (PPS) have been set up in schools throughout Malaysia currently.
On the RM1,000 Ihsan Cash Aid for heads of households affected by floods, he said 43,000 heads of households have been identified as qualifying for aid, which involves a RM4.3 million allocation.
Even though the aid was only given to those who evacuated to registered centres, the government, in its concern, will provide aid to those who evacuated to newly opened PPS as well. The distribution of the aid had started yesterday in stages.
— Bernama
