IPOH, Nov 25 — The Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination will not be postponed despite flooding in several states, as the authorities have contingency measures in place to deal with the situation, said Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh.
He said the Ministry of Education (MOE) has a complete set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and mechanisms to ensure candidates can sit for the examination safely, including the activation of Operasi Payung (Operation Umbrella).
“As I mentioned earlier, we have long made the necessary preparations to ensure that the SPM can proceed smoothly, and we have proven that we can ensure our students attend the SPM with the existing SOPs.
“So the MOE is confident that with the existing SOPs, circulars and the activation of Operasi Payung if floods occur, we will be able to handle the situation and ensure the examination runs smoothly,” he said at a press conference after visiting the first day of the SPM written examination at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Raja Chulan here today.
He said measures under Operasi Payung include transport into and out of examination centres, relocating examination centres to allow candidates to sit for their papers at unaffected centres, temporary placement of flood-affected candidates at school hostels or temporary relief centres (PPS), and the use of alternative examination centres for schools affected by floods.
Wong said that as of this morning, 317 SPM candidates in seven states were affected by floods — Kelantan (72), Penang (6), Kedah (24), Terengganu (2), Perlis (45), Perak (167) and Selangor (1).
“So far, four alternative centres have been opened — one in the Tumpat district in Kelantan, two in Kulim and Bandar Baharu, and I was informed this morning by the state director that there is also a case in Perak involving Sekolah Menengah Tahfiz Darul Ridzuan, Pangkor, with 20 affected candidates.
“An alternative centre has been opened at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Pangkor, and this is due to a landslide, not flooding,” he said.
Perak education director Zulkafli Mohamed Mokhtar said 31,704 candidates in the state are sitting for the SPM examination.
“To prevent anything worse from happening, we relocated the candidates from Sekolah Menengah Tahfiz Darul Ridzuan in Pangkor to the co-curriculum centre. They will sit for the examination at Sekolah Menengah Pangkor, adjacent to the school,” he said.
A total of 413,372 candidates are sitting for the SPM this year, covering candidates from government schools, government-aided schools, government-aided religious schools, state religious secondary schools, private schools registered with the MOE, rakyat religious secondary schools and private candidates.
