By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Mar 6: Teachers’ Training Institutes (IPGs) nationwide have been ordered to suspend all water and extreme activities following the deaths of two trainees who drowned during a kayaking activity in Kedah last Saturday (Apr 4).
According to the Ministry of Education (MoE), its deputy minister Wong Kah Woh said the directive was issued by education director-general Azam Ahmad to ensure student safety and would remain in effect pending further ministry announcements.
“This is an immediate step to ensure the parents of trainees at IPGs feel reassured,” he said in a press conference at Ipoh, as reported by Kosmo.
He also emphasised that the MoE is giving its full cooperation to the authorities, while also conducting its own internal probe, which began on Sunday (Apr 5).
At around 6pm on Saturday, two trainees—a man and a woman—were reported missing during an off-campus programme at Pantai Merdeka near Sungai Petani, Kedah.
The victims, Christopher Ling, 21, and Joey Ling, 20, were later found drowned at 7.30pm. They were still wearing their life jackets at the time.
Kuala Muda police chief Hanyan Ramlan said preliminary investigations found that the kayak capsized due to rough sea conditions, with the victims later discovered entangled in a local fisherman’s net. — DayakDaily
