SHAH ALAM, April 6 — University students affected by Tuesday’s gas pipeline fire in Putra Heights have described the RM2,000 financial aid announced by the Higher Education Ministry (MOHE) as a relief.
They said the contribution, to be distributed by Yayasan Perkasa Siswa, is meaningful as many of them have lost devices such as tablets and laptops that are essential for their studies, which resume tomorrow after the Aidilfitri break.
Nur Ain Aisya Mohmad Johar, a 23-year-old Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) student, said she will use the aid to replace her tablet and laptop that were ruined in the fire.
“UiTM also provided a small contribution... This has brought us some relief,” said the human resource management degree student, a Kampung Kuala Sungai Baru resident.
Meanwhile, Adlyn Safiah Abu Samah, 20, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) students, and her two siblings, one of whom is also an IIUM student and the other a Universiti Kuala Lumpur student, expressed their gratitude for the contribution.
She said they may have to skip classes as they still cannot access their laptops and books.
“We will use this contribution to repair our devices… and use the rest (of the money) to help ease our parents’ burden. Our family suffered significant losses… Our family car and my brother’s motorcycle were also damaged,” she said.
Meanwhile, Higher Education director-general Prof Datuk Azlinda Azman said they had identified 70 students of public and private higher learning institutions stricken by the fire to receive the contribution.
“We will provide immediate aid in the form of cash if any of them have lost or had their bank cards destroyed in the incident, and the rest will be done via online transfer,” she said.
She added that discussions with the Digital Ministry regarding laptop donation to affected students are underway.
— Bernama
