THE Movement Control Order (MCO) necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic caught many unawares when it was first announced in the middle of March this year.
What ensued was a mad scramble involving mainly university and college students leaving their campus en masse, culminating in the now-infamous crowded scene at Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS).
While many students managed their way home just before MCO came into effect, about 70,000 did not and had to remain on campus. The risk of these students contracting the virus from external sources and spreading it among themselves was too great.
Universities imposed a lockdown of their campuses. Students were to stay in dormitory rooms, while face-to-face lectures and other activities were suspended.
They can traverse around the campus grounds, but not anywhere beyond the gates. The government through the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) then announced a meal assistance programme for all students stranded on campus, where they were provided full meals three times a day, seven days a week.
Altogether, the government has devoted almost RM50 million towards the welfare of our students on campus. That is not all. With the advent of the fasting month of Ramadan and the prospect of Hari Raya Aidilfitri looming on the horizon, students were understandably anxious to go home.
The decision to allow them to travel home during MCO has long been deliberated by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE).
Various agencies however expressed concern about moving 70,000 people across the country, more so during a critical juncture in the fight against Covid-19.
If it is to be done, then it had to be done properly. And so began one of the most monumental evacuation efforts Malaysia has ever seen.
MOHE worked with universities and colleges, police, Malaysia Airlines and many other agencies to send students home over the course of several weeks beginning April 27.
At the time of writing, around 40,000 students have successfully reunited with their families. The government aims to complete the rest before Hari Raya.
One department has stood proudly at the fore of all these efforts: the Student Affairs Department (HEP), managing the well-being of students on campus during lockdown.
This included their meals, safety, health, welfare, and even activities. A command centre was established in each university to oversee daily statistics and relay them to MOHE: how many students are left, how many infected, how many PUI's, the counselling efforts, what kind of help are received from agencies and NGO's.
Students chipped in by organising creative contests and activities among themselves like gaming tournaments, volunteer efforts, and video competitions.
The student movement exercise, codenamed IPTpulang, was arguably the most challenging endeavour faced by the HEP. Yet their commitment to helping students reach home shone through.
I attended the first send-off session on April 27 at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), where around 400 students from the Klang Valley were to travel north to their respective hometowns, an operation so meticulous, thorough, and uncompromising in its care.
Police officers were on hand to check students' details, the Fire and Rescue Department took care of sanitising luggage and transport, while HEP managed the student departees inside the hall. Everyone wore face masks and kept their social distancing.
That was the first of hundreds of movements throughout the country, each carefully planned and executed, also mentally and physically draining to the university staff and volunteers.
The overall operation is divided into zones, and each is led by the Zone Leader. Though MOHE centrally commands the movement schedules, the details and hard work of actually executing the movement is managed by the Zone Leaders and their team.
Many of them spent day and night on campus, sacrificing personal time and sleep to ensure everything ran smoothly. IPTpulang has largely been successful.
In this regard, Malaysia's efforts for our students serve as a shining example for other nations to follow.
I would thus like to publicly salute the tireless efforts of Zone Leaders as well as their team of HEP staff and volunteers, police, Fire and Rescue Department, Malaysia Airlines, and everyone who was involved in the mission.
Alongside doctors and healthcare professionals, they are our "other frontliners" in this fight against Covid-19.
In the years to come, when things hopefully return to normal, may they all look back fondly and be proud of the role they have played in this extraordinary endeavour.
The writer is director of Holistic Student Division, Department of Higher Education
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times