Armed Forces Trucks To Be Mobilised To Take SPM Candidates To Exam Centres - DPM Zahid

BAGAN DATUK, Dec 1 (Bernama) -- Three-, five- and seven-ton Malaysian Armed Forces trucks have been mobilised 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 Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is National Disaster Management Committee chairman, said that this was to ensure candidates in Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah were 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 armed forces trucks, this has been done since yesterday in three states, Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah," he said at a media conference after officiating the Bagan Datuk district-level Sejahtera Social One Stop Centre programme here today,

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He 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 throughout the country were affected by floods, with Kelantan having the most, at 80 schools, followed by 62 schools in Terengganu and 14 schools in Kedah.

Also, 396 relief centres have been set up in schools throughout the country currently, he shared.

On the RM1,000 Ihsan Cash Aid for heads of households affected by floods, Ahmad Zahid said currently 43,000 heads of households have been identified as qualified for the aid, which involves an allocation of RM4.3 million.

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Even though the aid was only given to those who evacuated to registered centres, the government in its concern, will provide the aid to those who evacuated to newly opened centres as well, and noted that the distribution of the aid had started since yesterday in stages.

-- BERNAMA