KLUANG: Safety will be closely monitored to ensure that all 48,276 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2023 candidates in Johor get to sit for the exam even with several districts badly hit by floods, says the Mentri Besar.

       Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said district officers would take charge of coordinating safety matters for SPM candidates in flood-hit areas.

       “This is to ensure that flood victims who are required to sit for the SPM soon will not miss out in case the floods drag on.

       “Floods affecting examinations is not new.

       “In previous years, schools were used as temporary relief centres and it is hoped that district officers can help properly implement operational work.

       “This is to ensure everything goes smoothly with coordination done at the district level,” he told reporters after inspecting glow-in-the-dark street signs along Jalan Simpang Renggam-Jalan Renggam on Thursday night.

       The SPM Bahasa Melayu oral exam will be held from next Monday to Jan 11, followed by the English Language oral exam (Jan 17-23), Bahasa Melayu and English Language listening tests (Jan 29), and written papers (Jan 30 to March 7).

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       Onn Hafiz said the state government had been making thorough preparations for the monsoon since last November.

       He advised the public, especially those living in flood-prone areas, to be prepared and follow the instructions of the authorities for their safety.

       “We pray that there will be no major flooding. I was told there will be no high tide for the next three or four days.

       “Severe floods usually occur if heavy rain is accompanied by high tide,” he said.

       A state Education Department spokesman said there were 364 examination centres in Johor with 301 of those involving secondary schools.

       “There are no SPM examination centres being used as temporary relief centres. Some relief centres only involve primary schools,” the spokesman said.

       Meanwhile, the number of flood victims in Johor is rising with the figure at 1,448 as at 4pm yesterday, compared with 1,000 as at 8pm on Thursday.

       According to the state disaster management committee, seven temporary flood relief centres have been opened in Kota Tinggi, three in Johor Baru, two in Mersing and one in Kluang.

       “Kota Tinggi has the highest number of flood victims at 748, followed by Johor Baru with 359, Mersing with 265 and Kluang with 77,” it said.