Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) announced a review of the standard operating procedures (SOP) for outings of Mara Junior Science College (MRSM) students following the disappearance of two Form Four students from MRSM Alor Gajah in Melaka [1, 2, 3].
The two students, both aged 16, were reported missing on August 11 after they had received treatment at a health clinic [1, 2, 3]. After being missing for four days, they were found near Pasar Seni in Kuala Lumpur on August 15 [1, 2, 3]. One of the girls was in shock and suffered a panic attack, requiring hospital treatment [1, 2, 3].
Police in Alor Gajah requested assistance from MARA officials on August 17 to aid in the investigation, but detailed findings have not been made public [1, 2, 3].
MARA chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki described the incident as an isolated case. He stressed that the existing policy allowing students to visit town once or twice a month without teacher accompaniment to build maturity should remain intact. "We should not use this isolated case as the basis for regulations that could disrupt activities and programmes that have been running well at MRSMs," he said [1, 2, 3].
The review aims to ensure student safety while preserving normal student activities and programmes.
Further updates may follow pending the ongoing investigation results.
