Graduation plans dashed
BANDA ACEH: The tsunami that struck Aceh and much of South-East Asia on Sunday destroyed more than lives and property.
It also robbed Malaysian students at Banda Aceh's Institute Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN) of a degree.
“I was supposed to sit for my final exams today (Thursday),” said Kamal Mohamad Shabudin wistfully.
Instead, the 23-year-old IAIN student from Kedah has to take an emergency Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) flight home.
He has no choice. He and 21 other IAIN students could not finish the degree as their college, too, fell victim to Sunday’s tidal waves.
Kamal told Bernama that he would return to Banda Aceh if he could, to complete his studies in the city that he had grown to love.
“But the campus has been wiped out, what can I do” he said.
His college mate, who wished only to be identified as Yusni, said she could not wait to leave the place.
She, along with another 19 students, were waiting for the same flight.
Yusni said she had had enough of the earthquake and resulting tsunami that devastated Aceh and many other countries in the region.
She said the waves that struck Banda Aceh at about 9am local time were as high as a two-storey building.
After the water subsided, she and her friends returned to their homes to search for their belongings and meet up with other friends, only to see complete devastation.
In the days after the disaster, the students realised that two fellow students were missing.
One, Ismail Khalid, is reportedly safe but cannot be located, while Mohamad Zulhelmi Masri, has since been found.
The Malaysian Consul-General in Medan, Yusuf Bakar, said the official figure for the number of Malaysians missing in Aceh was one, although the actual number was probably higher.
He said many Malaysians had families residing in Aceh and estimated the number of missing Malaysians to run into the dozens, if not hundreds.
Meanwhile, heavy air traffic at Medan’s Polonia airport is hampering the early return of the Malaysian students.
A spokesman said planes prepared by the Royal Malaysian Air Force for the mission could not reach Medan where the students were waiting.
Two planes were at the Subang Air Force Base yesterday waiting for the green light to take off.
They were supposed to have left at 11am but until press time, Medan had not given the clearance for the flights.
An earlier attempt was made on Wednesday when a carrier, which went from the base to Aceh, was supposed to have stopped by at Medan to pick up the students before returning.
“However, because of congestion at Medan, the plane had to fly straight back to Subang,” the spokesman said.
News Poll
- Man posted doctored photos of Nik Aziz
- Heartbreaking wait for mum
- Sodomy II: Karpal claims judge lied (Updated)
- The world just got bigger
- Opposition leaders decry court’s ruling
- Weather warning for Perak, Selangor and Sabah
- Thumbs-up for Najib
- 5-0 for BN’s Zambry
- Saiful files report over death threat
- WWF: Orang asli being used
- 60 lose RM25mil in gold investment scam
- Canberra to set new skills list
- Sodomy II: Karpal claims judge lied (Updated)
- Weather warning for Perak, Selangor and Sabah
- MAS offers CNY bargains
- ‘Flashing candy’ a health hazard: Health Ministry
- Saiful files report over death threat
- Fleet card cloning ring busted with arrest of trio
- WWF: Orang asli being used
- Heavy vehicle ban during CNY rush
RSS
