Higher Education Ministry to issue forest recreation activity SOP for IPT

CYBERJAYA: The Higher Education Ministry will issue a standard operating procedure for forest recreation activity to all higher education institutions (IPT) in the country.
Its minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said the SOP was expected to be ready in another month’s time.
The necessity followed an incident on May 13 in which two Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) students perished when a tree fell on them while they were following an exercise at the Lata Charok waterfall site in Janda Baik, Bentong around 4am.
Noorain Mohtar, 23, and Muhammad Kamil Md Sukri, 22, lost their lives while six other students were injured including one seriously. They were among 140 students and four lecturers involved in the exercise.
"We will make sure that the SOP is more stringent to prevent a repeat of the incident. We are figuring a way to implement it at ministry level,” he said after presenting prizes to winners of the Soaring Upwards i-Video Competition 2017 organised by Universiti Multimedia Malaysia (MMU) here, today.
On the ministry’s directive to all IPT to stop all forest recreation activities, he said it would be withdrawn once the SOP is ready.
Commenting on Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar’s statement that the organiser of the UiTM student activity did not obtain a permit, he said the issue of permit was also included in the SOP.
"The ministry will look at all aspects to make sure every programme follows the SOP,” he said. — Bernama