KUALA NERUS, 10 May—A total of 160 Sarawakian students including those from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) boarded a special flight home this morning.

Of the 160 students, 55 are from UMT, 43 from Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), and 24 from Universiti Malaysia Pahang. In addition, 13 are students from Terengganu Safety Training Centre, 10 Universiti Teknologi Mara Terengganu, 5 Ranaco College, 4 Politeknik Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, 3 Universiti Tun Hussein Onn, 2 UCSI, and 1 Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

The flight that departed at 11.05 from Sultan Mahmud Airport is scheduled to arrive in Sarawak at 1 pm.

UMT Vice Chancellor Professor Dato’ Dr Nor Aieni Mokhtar said that UMT was given the responsibility of coordinating the sending of Sarawakian students home as well as welcoming the East Coast students from Sarawak, scheduled to arrive later in the evening.

She said that all the students had passed the health screening test conducted by the University Health Center, UMT.

She also said that the process carried out by UMT was in compliance with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) set by the Ministry of Higher Education and the National Security Council in cooperation with the Royal Malaysia Police.

The process of sending the students home was handled by UMT Student Affairs Division and assisted by the University Health Centre, the Security Division, the Office of Development and Assets, the Corporate Communication Centre, uniform bodies, UMT volunteers, the Royal Malaysia Police, and the Fire and Rescue Department.

“My advice to the students is, always follow the SOP during the trip homes and always take care of personal hygiene to minimize the risk of COVID-19,” she said when met at the airport this morning.

The flight from Sarawak carrying 160 East Coast students is expected to arrive at 4.30 pm today. A total of 91 students are from Terengganu, 30 from Kelantan, 22 from Pahang, and 17 from Selangor.

“I would like to thank the Minister of Higher Education Datuk Dr Noraini Ahmad for her continuous support in ensuring that the students can return home to their families and celebrate Ramadhan and Hari Raya together,” Professor Nor Aieni said.