PUTRAJAYA, Feb 16 — The government has not been informed that University of Malaya (UM) volunteers have allegedly been required to attend to students from China, who recently returned to continue their studies during the new semester, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
Explaining that the Education Ministry will be looking into the matter, she said: “University authorities must take the responsibility of providing protection to all concerned, be they volunteers or staff.
“This is among the instructions of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who has said that any staff member or member of the public who is at risk, must be protected to the best of our abilities”, Dr Wan Azizah said during a press conference here today, on the latest developments concerning COVID-19 infections.
She was commenting on a local newspaper report published today about a representative of UM volunteers, who expressed dissatisfaction over being asked to attend to students from China who are being housed at the 10th Residential College.
The report stated that 550 students from China had returned to the campus and registered on February 5.
The volunteer is said to have been involved in conducting body temperature screenings of the students.
It was further alleged by UM volunteers that the university’s student affairs department should be responsible for the students from China, and that volunteers had not been trained in handling the returning students, particularly in the wake of the coronavirus infections. — Bernama
