TUESDAY-18TH DECEMBER 2007-Malay body to help former Labuan college students

Malay body to help former Labuan college students
LABUAN: Dewan Perniagaan Melayu Malaysia (DPMM) Labuan is prepared to assist the 11 former students of Labuan International College whose diploma is not recognized by the National Accreditation Board(LAN). Its deputy president, Mohd Alias Abd Rahman, said in a statement yesterday that the plight and predicament of the students had brought to the attention of the DPMM. ‘Therefore, being a Malay organization which struggles for the future of the Malay community in general, we feel that we are obliged to assist them,” he said. DPMM came forward after several media statements highlighted the issue of the ex-students who would be given compensation following an order from the Consumer Claims Tribunal recently. The former students were awarded RM275, 000, with each of them to be compensated of RM25,000. The college whose director is the Member of Parliament of Labuan, Datuk Suhaili Abd Rahman, is said to have ceased its operation.
Alias said that the DPMM was ready to struggle in the interest of Malay students. “We are even ready to help to bring the case to the civil court for them to be compensated a deserving amount due to the higher expenses they have incurred during their studies as well as the loans they have obtained from PTPTN and Mara,” he said. Alias, who expressed regrets over what had happened, said the course in question should have been accredited by the LAN before the students were recruited. He said the issue of the 11 students who are mostly from Sabah was a good lesson to parents. He also believed the number of victims was just ‘a tip of the iceberg’, as almost 100 students had enrolled in the college. “We are openly offering to assist the students to take further legal action. And they may liaise with us,” he said. Alias urged the relevant authorities, especially the various ministries dealing with education, to look into this matter seriously. “We cannot afford to have the issue recurring or more students will be victimized,” he said.