UMK To Improve Campus Safety Following PhD Student Crash

TANAH MERAH, Dec 10 (Bernama) -- Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) is taking steps to improve safety across its Kota Bharu, Jeli and Bachok campuses to prevent the recurrence of incidents involving students.

Its vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Arham Abdullah said student safety had always been a priority for the university and that several improvement measures had been identified.

“Following this unexpected incident, UMK held a special meeting and identified several areas for improvement, including improving lighting on campus, installing more warning signs, and conducting regular monitoring.

“We also issued a notice to all students to raise awareness and ensure they take care of their own safety,” he told reporters after presenting a personal donation from the Tengku Mahkota of Kelantan, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra, who is also the UMK Pro-Chancellor, to the family of the late Muhammad Amidee Abdullah in Kampung Chawas here today.

According to previous media reports, Muhammad Amidee, a UMK PhD student, died while his friend was injured after the Perodua Axia they were travelling in skidded and plunged into a lake at the Jeli Campus at about 6.20 pm on Dec 2.

Meanwhile, Arham said the university was also handling the student’s insurance claim, which would soon be handed over to the next of kin.

In a separate development, he said UMK had suffered losses amounting to RM2 million following the first wave of floods late last month, which affected its Kota Pengkalan Chepa campus.

“The campus was flooded up to 0.6 metres, affecting several classrooms, equipment, furniture and books. UMK is using its own funds for the repairs and is also seeking assistance from the National Disaster Management Agency,” he said.

He added that the Public Works Department had installed another water extraction pump at the campus, bringing the total to five pumps in operation in preparation for the next wave of flooding.

--BERNAMA