UUM students can go home to vote

Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) students who want to return to their home states to vote in the Aug 12 state elections can sit for their final exams at a later date.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said students just need to inform the university and register to sit for the exams when they return.

“No problem. UUM will set another date for students who will have to travel home to vote.

“The elections are only happening in Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah, Selangor, Penang and Negri Sembilan so why should students nationwide be made to follow the same schedule?

“You must understand, students from Sabah and Sarawak have already bought their flight tickets because the exam dates had been fixed early on before the polling date was announced.

“Only UUM faced this scheduling issue because it is the only university to have the exams on a Saturday,” he told a press conference in Putrajaya on July 31.When the first exam notice was released, stating that the exam dates would be moved from Aug 11 to Aug 13, and continue from Aug 21 to Aug 23, students primarily from Sabah, Sarawak and overseas voiced their concerns since they were affected by issues like plane ticket rescheduling and refunds, UUM student representative council (MPP) president Muhammad Izuan Faiz Abdul Rahman told The Star on July 25.

He said students at the varsity in Kedah had requested the initial July 31 to Aug 20 dates be maintained.

In a Facebook post shared by Alor Setar MP Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden, a notice issued by UUM on July 10 stated that exams would continue to be held from the end of July until the middle of August.

In the first notice, UUM had postponed the exams to allow students to return home to vote.

Some 2,000 students from the university are expected to be taking the final exams at UUM.