15 ORANG ASLI STUDENTS INJURED WHEN VEHICLE OVERTURNS IN POS SIMPOR

GUA MUSANG, June 14 (Bernama) – The excitement of 15 Orang Asli students of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Panggung Jaya here, turned into anxiousness when the four-wheel drive they were travelling in overturned in a forest area near their hostel in Pos Simpor at 1.37 pm yesterday.

Pos Simpor Orang Asli Village Development and Safety Committee (JPKKOA) chairman Jamil Gabon said it is believed the accident happened when the vehicle, ferrying the students, was unable to climb a slope and moved backwards until it overturned.

He said all the students sustained slight injuries and were sent to the Gua Musang Hospital to receive treatment.

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"A victim (student) said the vehicle broke down while passing through a hilly terrain,” he said when contacted by reporters today.

“When they (students) realised the vehicle was going backwards on the slope, they panicked and  jumped out of the vehicle.”

Jamil said this is the third time an incident like this, involving Orang Asli students returning from long holidays, has happened.

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“This incident is worrying for us to allow them to travel to or from school,” he said.

“We hope the responsible parties will regularly monitor the maintenance of vehicles before allowing our children to be passengers.”

Meanwhile, Dendi Johari, 36, from Pos Simpor said he hopes the road leading to the post, situated in the interior, can be maintained and upgraded to reduce the risk of repeated accidents.

He said the distance from the settlement to the secondary school’s dormitory is nearly 100 kilometres, and parents do not have any choice but to allow their children to travel by four-wheel drives via the logging roads and forest areas.

--BERNAMA