Security forces help clean three schools

RANTAU PANJANG: Security forces from various enforcement agencies teamed up to clean three schools here which were badly affected by the floods which hit the district last week.
The gotong-royong programme was led by the district Fire and Rescue Department and jointly assisted by the Civil Defence Force (APM), the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) and Rela (People's Volunteer Corps).
Rantau Panjang fire and rescue department station chief Mohd Adni Ibrahim said the gotong-royong began at 9am today was aimed to help the schools that were badly affected by the floods in the district.
"Three schools were selected — Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Sri Rantau Panjang 1, SK Rantau Panjang 2 and SK Gual Tinggi.
"Our joint forces was divided into three in making the programme a success," he said today.
He said about 500 volunteers also stepped up to help with the clean-up work as soon as the water levels went down.
"We used two fire trucks to suck out an estimated 20,000 litres of water to clean the school," he said.
Adni added SK Sri Rantau Panjang 1 was most severely affected as the water level hit two metres, causing plenty of damage to the school.
"The silt from the flood was so thick that it would not be possible for the school Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) alone to clean it," he said.