'We gotchu kitties!' - IIUM students rally to feed cats on campus
An initial confusion surrounding enforcement of the movement control order sparked an exodus of students from their university campuses.
Notwithstanding this having taken place, it is understood there are currently only 3,500 students left at the main campus of the International Islamic University Malaysia in Gombak, Selangor, down from its 20,000 student population.
For the students left behind, although with some difficulties, they could still buy food from four shops that remained open during the order period...
An initial confusion surrounding enforcement of the movement control order sparked an exodus of students from their university campuses.
Notwithstanding this having taken place, it is understood there are currently only 3,500 students left at the main campus of the International Islamic University Malaysia in Gombak, Selangor, down from its 20,000 student population.
For the students left behind, although with some difficulties, they could still buy food from four shops that remained open during the order period.
The same, however, could not be said for the hundreds of cats that also live in the campus and over the years became used to be fed by the students.
Realising the situation, the IIUM Student Union has taken the initiative to raise funds and buy cat food for distribution around campus.
"We just received cat food for all the cats on campus. Thank you to all donors.
"If we're hungry, so are they. We gotchu kitties!" said the group on Twitter.
According to IIUM Student Union chief Amir Nadzim Kaharudin, 23, they had initiated a fundraiser media two days ago, together with IIUM's cat lovers club.
The groups managed to raise RM2,500 in two days and the entire amount was spent on cat food for daily distributions by around 20 volunteers at all 17 residential colleges on the campus.
"There are cats that have not eaten for several days, starving.
"When we open our room doors, there will be five or six cats waiting for food," said the fourth-year Information Technology student.
The movement control order will be in force until March 31 and Amir said the union is still looking for more volunteers to assist the feeding process.
"We are still looking for volunteers because there are many cats here.
"We will try to feed the cats at every college every day, InsyaAllah," Amir added.
The students left behind on campus were among those who escaped the exodus sparked by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's announcement of the order on March 16 - including for all university classes to be cancelled.
Most university administrations had responded by issuing orders for students to immediately vacate their on-campus residents, forcing those without other options to return to their home towns, despite the call to avoid mass gatherings of people.
The next day, the National Security Council issued a Frequently Asked Question statement which clarified the order, but by that time, a majority of students had already left their campuses.
Report this comment
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
This action cannot be undone.