Already distraught over flooded family homes, students face added pressure of looming exams

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 — Some students have expressed concern about their preparations for key national examinations in early 2022 as study materials have suffered water damage or been destroyed.

Others said they were too traumatised to continue with their study schedules, which have been completely upended by the floods that have been described as the worst to have hit the peninsula, according to The Star.

Laila Najwa Shahrim said she could not even think about her SPM tests in March as she was distraught about the plight of her family.

“Even though studying is a priority for me, I can’t let my family clean the house themselves while I’m studying upstairs — it doesn’t feel right.

“So, I’m just going to hope that I have enough time to prepare for SPM,” she was quoted as saying.

Another student named Amy said she lost all her books when floodwaters entered her home on Saturday night.

The 17-year-old said she has been traumatised from witnessing the devastation to her family home in Taman Sri Muda, Selangor, which was one of the hardest hit areas of the state.

“Right now, my mind is just on helping my family get our house and lives back in order,” she said.

Residents in Taman Sri Muda and Taman Sri Nanding suffered severe flooding to their homes and workplaces in the area over the weekend.

The record rainfall caused traffic jams, school and business closures, millions in property damage, and deaths.

Pravin Periasamy, 19, from Taman Sri Muda, said the havoc wreaked on his family home had affected his university enrolment plans.

“I need time to mentally recover before I can focus on studying again,” he said.

He said the floodwaters reached the second storey of his family’s home and they had to be rescued by boat.

A-Level student Darren Daniel Yap Chin Ong, 17, said he has been sleepless as he was distraught thinking about his family’s house that was damaged beyond repair.

“I started to cry as I thought the house was going to be badly damaged. I could not sleep that night due to the constant nightmares I had about the flood,” he said.