COME rain or shine, the national examinations in flood-hit Terengganu, Malaysia, will go on.

About 300 students from Ulu Terengganu, Dungun and Besut stayed overnight at or near their test centres yesterday to ensure that they could make it to their examinations on time.

The students were from seven different schools, reported China Daily.

They were due to sit for either the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) or the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) examinations this morning.

The SPM, or the Malaysian Certificate of Education, is a national examination similar to the O levels. The STPM, or the Malaysian Higher School Certificate, is a pre-university examination.

The Malaysian civil defence force took students to their test centres from their flood-hit homes by speedboat in the afternoon yesterday.

Officials from the Education Ministry also spent the night at the test centres.

Necessary measure

Terengganu State Education Department director Ariffin Embong said housing the students at the test centres was a necessary measure to ensure they do not miss their examinations.

He said the operation to evacuate students from their homes went smoothly.

He also urged students living in flood-prone areas to temporarily stay with relatives and friends who live near the test centres.

Mr Ariffin said: "To date, the state has not had to cancel any examinations because of the flooding." He added that volunteers prepared meals for the students who stayed over.

As of 5pm yesterday, 7,239 people from 1,723 families in Terengganu had been evacuated.

A spokesman for Terengganu's National Security Council said the district of Kemaman had the highest number of people affected, with 1405 people from 315 families evacuated to 20 relief centres in the district, reported The New Straits Times.

In the state capital, Kuala Terengganu, 17 roads remained closed to all vehicles and six were closed to light vehicles after being submerged by floodwaters of between 1m and 3m.

The flood situation in Kelantan and Terengganu is likely to worsen. The Meteorological Department of Malaysia has maintained the red-stage warning for the two states until tomorrow.

The department said the two states can expect heavy monsoon rain with sustained wind speed of at least 60kmh, which can cause structural damage to buildings.

Strong north-easterly winds of 40kmh to 50kmh are also exposing the two states to rising sea levels and waves of up to 3.5m in height.

Three major rivers in Kelantan overflowed their banks on Sunday, forcing some 2,000 people to seek shelter in relief centres.

A spokesman for the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad's (KTMB) intercity train services for the east coast sector said that trains have been slowed down in flood-hit areas of Kelantan, reported The Star. As a result, the KTMB trains faced the possibility of delays yesterday.

The spokesman said local train services between Tumpat and Gua Musang were temporarily halted due to landslides.

This article was first published in The New Paper.