The way the Universiti Teknologi Mara fire was reported by the media gave the impression it was indeed arson. The media shouldnt be too quick to conclude that. Remember the Great Hall fire at Universiti Malaya? Arson was also mentioned and all sorts of threats of using the Internal Security Act against the unpatriotic students. Two were even detained under the act following the fire.

Yet what has happened since then? The police have yet to reveal their findings although the reports from the various departments have been ready months ago. Why all the silence suddenly?

UM must be held responsible for being alarmist. It was a simple electrical fault that started the fire, according to one press report quoting the Fire and Rescue Department sources.

As in the case of the UTM fire, the question is why did it take so long for the two fires to be discovered? In the case of UM it was so late that the roof and interior were gutted. In the case of UTM, it was not until the next morning that the fire was discovered.

Please don't point fingers when what is apparent is a serious security breach on the two campuses. The question we should be asking is how safe are our campuses.