No M'sian students affected by Lombok earthquake

No Malaysian students were affected by the recent earthquake in Lombok, Indonesia, according to Education Minister Maszlee Malik.

In a statement today, he said this information was obtained from the Indonesian chapter of Education Malaysia and the Malaysian Embassy office in Jakarta.

According to Maszlee, there were no Malaysian students residing in Lombok or West Nusa Tenggara.

“Malaysian students nearest to Lombok are in Bali, which is 172km away,” he said, adding that there were 137 Malaysian students pursuing studies at the Universitas Udaya, Bali.

Maszlee, however, said the embassy and Education Malaysia would continue monitoring the situation.

“I wish to convey my condolences to the families of the victims and I hope that Malaysian students in Indonesia will be careful and follow all instructions given by the local authorities,” he said.

Meanwhile, Wisma Putra in a statement today confirmed that two Malaysian women - Tai Siew Kim and Lim Sai Wah - were killed in the quake-triggered landslide in Lombok.

It said seven Malaysians were injured and currently receiving treatment at a local hospital, while 13 others were safe.

There were 22 Malaysians at the Tiu Kelep Senaru waterfall when the 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck at 3.07pm local time Sunday.

According to the Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency, the earthquake was followed by an aftershock of 5.2 magnitude.

- Bernama