KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 18 — The seven female teachers of SJK(C) Mun Choong were on an unofficial camping trip at the organic farm which was hit by the Batang Kali landslide, the school’s parent-teacher association (PTA) has said.
Local daily New Straits Times reported the school’s PTA chairman U Chin Ong as saying: “Let’s wait for an announcement from the Education Ministry.”
Ong had previously said two of the seven teachers had been found safe.
The paper also reported the school’s management as saying it was waiting for updates on its employees, while senior assistant teacher Ng Siew Foon said there were no plans currently for any ceremony.
“Any ceremony will be announced later because many of our teachers have not been found yet,” she was quoted saying.
According to NST, flower bouquets have been left outside the gate of SJK(C) Mun Choong in memory of its employees affected by the Batang Kali landslide, including one which read “Deepest condolences to all departed souls.”
The camping trip which was held during the school holidays was an informal one reportedly involving 23 persons — namely the seven teachers, their relatives and friends — at Father’s Organic Farm, with the group having checked in on Wednesday and due to leave on Friday.
But a landslide on Friday at 2.42am hit the camping site and trapped 94 persons, with the latest information showing that 24 victims were confirmed to be dead, 61 had been rescued and nine still missing.
Citing sources, local daily Sin Chew Daily reported that 13 of those who had been confirmed dead had been identified, including 12 persons related to the SJK(C) Mun Choong group, namely five female teachers and two of their kin, four children aged between nine to 12, and one canteen operator.
National news agency Bernama reported that the SJK(C) Mun Choong canteen assistant Nurul Azmani Kamarulzaman — who was accompanying her employer, who was also a teacher at the school — was one of those who were found dead and was buried last night in a funeral.
