SINGAPORE, June 9 — Malaysian Minister for Youth and Sports Khairy Jamaluddin this morning paid a visit to Tanjong Katong Primary School, where a tribute centre has been set up for victims of the magnitude 6 earthquake that struck Sabah last Friday.
Speaking to reporters after penning his condolence card, Khairy extended his condolences to and expressed solidarity with the victims and their families, and added: “This is a difficult time for all of us, especially since many of the victims from Singapore were young kids, school children who had gone to Kinabalu for an expedition.”
Commenting on current recovery efforts, Khairy, who was accompanied by his wife, noted: “We have stepped up our search and recovery operations over the last couple of days. We hope to conclude them by today.
“The weather conditions have not been favourable but we hope that we are able to recover the remaining missing climbers on Kinabalu.”
Meanwhile, Khairy also lauded he efforts of the mountain guides at Mount Kinabalu, calling them “the heroes of the day”.
“The mountain guides played a leading role on the frontlines because they were out there and their familiarity of the trade,” he added.
And while the Malaysian government mulls over limiting the age limit for climbers, Khairy said a comprehensive review of the area needed to be done first.
“This will not just require us looking at the safety aspects of climbing, but our metereologists and geologists will also have to look at how this threat of seismic movement on Mount Kinabalu, how this will impact us in the future,” Khairy said. — TODAY
