Group says no ‘starving students’, only money issues

There is a problem among university students on managing their finances, but there is no starvation cases, says a group expressing regret that results of its survey have been manipulated. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, January 13, 2016.An organisation who polled university students on cost of living has denied reports that there were cases of starvation among students in public universities, saying their findings were misreported.

Muslim Volunteer Malaysia (MVM) president Muhammad Jantan said those who used their infographic uploaded on the group’s Facebook page had never consulted them to find out the objective of the survey.

"They used our info without asking why we carried out the survey, they used it to slam other parties and that is not right because the survey was not done to point out anyone’s fault, it was to create awareness and find long-term solutions.

"What we were trying to highlight was the issue of survival among university students... there is no issue of starvation at universities, one (news) portal used the word starving and now everyone has misunderstood it.

"The issue is about how students manage their finances, like how they manage the PTPTN money they receive," Muhammad told The Malaysian Insider, referring to the National Higher Education Fund Corporation's study loans to students pursuing tertiary education.

On January 2, MVM uploaded the findings of the survey, which polled 25,632 university students last December.

The survey found 74% of varsity students had experienced not having money to eat, and 96% of them felt the burden of the current economy.

Some 41% of respondents said they only ate instant noodles while 44% said they ate only rice with fried egg.

Muhammad said the survey also found that 97% of respondents needed assistance from MVM but not financial aid.

Muslim Volunteer Malaysia (MVM) president Muhammad Jantan hits out at those who misinterpreted the group's survey on financial problems faced by varsity students in the country. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Kamal Ariffin, January 13, 2016.On the findings that students did not have money to eat, he said it did not mean they went on empty stomachs for long periods, adding that he was disappointed with irresponsible parties who had manipulated the findings to serve their own purpose.

"And this issue got bigger when a student was reported being admitted to hospital after she starved herself because she hads no money to eat," said Muhammad.

He added that the survey was conducted following the spread of a note from a student who resorted to borrowing money at a mosque, as he did not have money to eat for three days.

From the overall findings, Muhammad concluded that university students had issues in managing their finances, and his group was approaching the relevant universities to find a solution.

"Students have the money to eat, but sometimes they overuse their funds on certain days. If they don’t have money for the whole semester, then that is really a bad situation," Muhammad said.

He said MVM would discuss with the top six universities in the survey to offer assistance to students for a year.

"We are planning to organise free entrepreneurship workshops for students because some of the concerns raised in the survey were how they were going to survive after graduation."

The six universities MVM is currently trying to hold discussions with are Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIAM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) and Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM).

"We want to find a long-term solution to the issue of financial mismanagement.

"That’s why we want all relevant parties to sit down and find the best solution to this problem."

Following the initial report on the survey findings, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh vowed to ensure no public university students would starve due to financial difficulties.

"My personal commitment is to ensure that no students will ever go hungry in future.

"The Higher Education Ministry too has issued a directive requesting students who have nothing to eat to report to the ministry and the university’s authority and God willing we will take care of their needs," he was quoted as saying.

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin had said the reports of university students struggling to buy food could have been sensationalised, and not reflective of their general state of finances.

The youth and sports minister said there could be cases of students living in poverty but more investigation was necessary to determine if the issue was as prevalent as portrayed in news reports. – January 13, 2016.