GUA MUSANG, July 20 (NNN-BERNAMA) — More than 600 Orang Asli students have been stranded after heavy rains the past four days damaged roads and destroyed bridges, cutting off communication to their settlements.
They include students from Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Tohoi, SK Bihai and SK Hendrop, who travel daily to school and do not stay at hostels.
District Education Officer Azuri Hamzah said these students commute daily to school in vehicles provided by the Orang Asli Development Department.
Azuri said several vehicles of the department were on their way to pick up students yesterday morning when they were stopped in their tracks by damaged roads, landslides and collapsed bridges.
“There is nothing we can do to overcome the situation but hope it will be resolved as soon as possible to enable the Orang Asli students to resume their education,” he told reporters after visiting SK Hendrop here today.
In a mud flood incident at Pos Hendrop two nights ago due to heavy rain, 21 students in the hostel had to be evacuated.
Azuri also said there was a serious erosion problem near the school, and teachers had to monitor the students’ movement closely.
“The situation is unavoidable due to natural disasters and everyone did not expect this to happen before the monsoon season,” he said.