The Sun

Labuan campus more worrying than thought

NOT long ago, one of your readers wrote in highlighting the critical situation faced by the students of UMS (University Malaysia Sabah) at the Labuan campus and referring particularly to the fact that students have to live every day without water.
Although I was not particularly struck by the topic at the time as it did not concern me directly, I recently had the opportunity to talk to a student from that campus and now feel that the problems the students there have to put up with are considerable and should be rectified without delay.

Lack of water, filthy hostel rooms, poor quality of food, and inefficient administration are the order of the day. The cost of living is also very high and it causes the students to finish their pocket money very fast. All of this is naturally a headache for the students and the parents who have to support them.

Several students and their parents have complained to the administration about the pitiful conditions of the Labuan campus but the administration has done nothing about it.

Among all the problems faced by the students, the lack of water is certainly the most distressful. There is no water to drink, no water to wash yourself with, no water to clean your room with, and no water to wash your clothes with. Personally, I find that a university campus with no water has no justifications. If one of the reasons given by the government to build universities in remote areas is to aid in the development of the local population, then it is not possible that the government forgets to provide water which is the most basic need for human life.

There is no doubt that a major motivator for students to go to university is the perception that in order to fit in, to be accepted, and to succeed one must have a degree. You will not be viewed as highly by your peers, and society at large, if you do not have a degree, even if the quality of your work is equally good or better than that of the graduates.

A degree is nowadays a status symbol, and since the government has worked so hard to create in our youngsters an unstoppable desire to have a degree, it should also make sure that standards are not compromised and lowered for the sake of getting what one thinks he or she ought to have in order to succeed.

Granted, many students and their parents will be willing to put up with considerable hardship if this is what the government and society demand. However, the government should not be surprised if no gratitude is forthcoming when this gratitude is most needed, such as during a crisis or at election time for example.

To undertake to do a job means to do it up to standard and completely. Thus, to avoid any more unpleasant surprises at the next general election, I would advise the government to complete any job which it undertakes because completing the job means keeping the promise made to the people concerned. And to complete the potentially magnificent Labuan campus by providing it with piped water without delay.

Updated: 11:49PM Wed, 19 Aug 2009
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