The Perak state government has asked the Malaysian Ministry of Education (KPM) to establish a standard operating procedure (SOP) for periodic inspections of electrical equipment and building safety in all schools. This is following a report by the media yesterday that a female primary student in Selama, broke the fingers on her left hand when a ceiling fan in her classroom fell and hit her.
The incident, which happened around 10am, saw three other eight year old female students suffering minor injuries.
It was also reported that the victim’s father, who only wanted to be known as Mohd, 32, said his daughter’s desk was located directly under the fan.
In addition to a broken finger, he claimed, his daughter also suffered several other injuries in the chest as a result of the incident.
Mohd claimed that the fallen fan looked old, rusty and unsafe to use.
Perak Menteri Besar, Dato’ Seri Saarani Mohamad said that the matter is important in order to ensure that the incident of a ceiling fan falling on a female student in Selama does not happen again.
“We hope all schools will take action to always check and periodically inspect all electrical equipment.
“Not only for fans, but the school building as a whole should always be in a safe condition.
“To prevent events like this, I hope there is an SOP made by the Ministry of Education, the State Department of Education, the District Education Office and the respective schools,” he said.
He said this to reporters in a press conference after officiating the Perak State Level Innovation Day Celebration at the Perak Darul Ridzuan Building Banquet Hall on Wednesday.
In the meantime, Saarani said that periodic inspection should be done once a year or every six months, so that all the equipment will be in good condition and not harmful.
by Rosli Mansor
