Matriculation Students Allegedly Fined RM1.5K For Breaching SOP Although Stuck On Campus
The Ministry of Health (MOH) is currently looking into the matter and investigating the case.
By Arisha Rozaidee — 20 Apr 2021, 01:55 PM
Claims stating that students of Perak Matriculation College were fined RM1,500 by health officials while on campus recently surfaced online
A Twitter user uploaded a photo of several students being written up by Ministry of Health (MOH) officials and wrote, "Perak Matriculation College students were trapped for a whole semester but end up being fined RM1,500 at the cafe. Even our allowance for six months is just RM1,250."
MOH's official Twitter account was tagged in the tweet.
The posting on 19 April quickly garnered attention and raked in over 31,200 retweets.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah then responded to the tweet saying that the department has acknowledged the matter and is currently investigating the case
He wrote, "Thank you for lodging the complaint to the Ministry of Health and action will be taken immediately. InsyaAllah."
According to New Straits Times, another Twitter user explained that health officials had visited the Perak Matriculation College in Gopeng on Sunday to investigate a case of food poisoning in a cafe there.
The user further explained the officers visited the cafe again yesterday and subsequently issued compound notices to the students for not wearing masks properly.
Several people have pointed out that the move was unfair because the students have already been confined in their college for over five months due to the pandemic
Tagging several Twitter accounts belonging to government bodies such as the Ministry of Education (MOE), Matriculation Division, and MOH, Former education minister Maszlee Malik tweeted, "After hearing an explanation from fellow students, I urge @KemPendidikan and @KPMatrikulasi to deal with @KKMPutrajaya regarding the issue. Do not fine them. An educational approach is better. Give them a warning and a reminder. Pity the students."
Meanwhile, Muar MP Syed Saddiq wrote, "When it comes to students, no need to open investigation papers. Compound straight away. We've talked about double standards in enforcement many times. What's wrong with giving them a warning first before issuing a compound? What's so difficult? Please explain this @KKMPutrajaya."
