Set up rental house scheme for varsity students, says delegate

UNIVERSITY students living in off-campus accommodation should be given federal aid, as they are living in cramped quarters and risking their safety, said a delegate.

National student leader Mohd Rizal Abdul Fatah from Universiti Tun Hussein Onn said due to high rental, which could go up to RM3,000 per month, students had to put up with 10 to 15 people in a single house.

“This is not an issue of comfort. It’s an issue of safety.

“These students have multiple gadgets between them, which could cause a power surge.

“We don’t want another tahfiz fire tragedy,” he said.

Mohd Rizal proposed for an undergraduate rental house aid scheme to be introduced.

Under the proposal, he said, house owners could register under the programme to be eligible for tax relief and one-off aid from the Government.

“This means that they will not be able to raise rental fees as they wish,” he said.

Meanwhile, Zahari Sarip from Johor called for computer coding to be made a subject in local schools.

The Segamat Umno chief said coding is a discipline with huge potential.

“Modern developments have shown that many skills or jobs can be automated or carried out by robots, but not coding, which is still very much needed,” he said when debating the motion on religion and education at the Umno general assembly yesterday.

Coding classes, said Zahari, should not require an extremely large investment in facilities, adding that schools in Johor could start by using their existing infrastructure.

Puteri Umno delegate June Artisha Mohamad Nazari lamented the lack of civic consciousness among Malaysians, citing vandalism at the Sg Buloh-Kajang MRT after its launch as an example.

“What is the use of having modern multi-million ringgit equipment when a society lacks civic consciousness?” she said, calling for a review of civics education in schools.