PASIR PUTIH: For most students sitting for their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination yesterday, making their way to school is a merely short car or bus ride away.
Spare a thought then for Nur Atiqah Azman and Nor Fadilah Mohd Zaki of SMK Nasiruddin Shah in Besut, Terengganu, who had to brave raging seas and heavy rain just to sit for their exams.
The two girls, both residents of Pulau Perhentian Kecil in Terengganu, had to be 'rescued' by the Kelantan Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), which deployed a boat to bring them over to the mainland.
MMEA District 10 commander Captain Nurul Nizam Zakaria said a patrol boat was deployed to fetch the two girls, both 17, after the agency was told of their predicament from the island's village head Zainuddin Mohamad.
"The MMEA boat brought the girls to the Tok Bali jetty about 3pm.
"From here, they will be driven to their school in Besut where they can sit for their exams," he told reporters at the agency's jetty.
Meanwhile, Nur Atiqah said they returned to their hometown in Pulau Perhentian Kecil after school last Thursday.
"We had promised to meet at the island jetty this morning. But when we got here, the saw that the choppy seas and high waves made crossing over to the mainland impossible.
"We rang the village head and asked for his help. Alhamdulillah (praise be to God), MMEA officers came to get us and bring us back," said Nur Atiqah.
Both thanked the MMEA as well as the village head for enabling them to sit for the Ekonomi Asas Paper 1 and 2 yesterday, along with 50 other students at the school.
The two were brought to Besut by the school headmaster and teacher, who had been waiting at the jetty since 1pm.