KUALA LUMPUR: Students who were unable to sit for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) Bahasa Melayu oral test yesterday due to the floods have been given the flexibility to take the test until Thursday.

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said the decision was made to ensure that no affected candidates would miss the important examination.

“This flexible approach was put in place to make sure that all candidates can sit for the examination without facing any difficulties,” she told reporters after visiting the Wacana Kejayaan exhibition at the Parliament building here today.

The Bahasa Melayu oral test began yesterday and will run until Thursday (Dec 5).

According to Fadhlina, the ministry was currently focusing on the emotional recovery phase to help mentally prepare students affected by the floods for the examination.

She added that the Bahasa Melayu oral test, which began yesterday, ran smoothly across the country, including in flood-hit areas, with affected students moved to selected hostels to ensure the examination could take place on schedule.

“Yesterday, I was in Kelantan, the education director-general was in Terengganu, and the ministry secretary-general was in Kedah. We are closely monitoring these three states, along with state education departments and related agencies, to make sure there are no major issues affecting candidates’ attendance at the examination,” she said.

Commenting on Ops Payung, Fadhlina said the operation has been successfully carried out without any issues during the first two days of its implementation.

“There is no issue with continuing the mechanism to ensure that everyone, especially our children, remains safe during this examination season. I would like to once again thank all the agencies for their assistance,” she said.