Education Ministry denies school slow in lodging report on missing pupils

The Education Ministry has denied that Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Tohoi was slow in informing the authorities about the seven Orang Asli pupils who went missing since August 23, as accused by certain quarters.

Its minister, Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid, said the school management went looking for the pupils before making a report at the Gua Musang police station, which is located about two to three hours away from the school.

"They (school management) reached the police station at midnight on Aug 24 and they finished lodging the report at around 2am on Aug 25. How can they accuse that it is one day late when the report was actually lodged on the same day the students went missing."

He said this to reporters after visiting the Kedah Education Department with the ministry's secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Madinah Mohamad and director-general of education Datuk Seri Dr Khair Mohamed Yusof.

In fact, Mahdzir said once the school management were alerted about the missing pupils, they had conducted their own search and rescue (SAR) operation.

The pupils, comprising six girls and a boy aged between seven and 11, ran away from their hostel on Aug 23, for fear of being scolded by their teachers after they were found to have bathed in a river without permission.

The SAR operation for the pupils is being mounted by the Royal Malaysian Police, Malaysian Armed Forces, the Fire and Rescue Department, People's Volunteer Corps, Orang Asli Development Department and the Malaysian Civil Defence Department personnel.