NILAI: Worried over the safety and wellbeing of Momo if left to fend for itself at her rented house, undergraduate Amira Atiqa Azman decided to take the cat with her back to her hometown.
The 24-year-old was among 65 undergraduates from Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) who was involved in phase two of an operation to allow varsity students to return to their homes since being stranded on campus due to the Movement Control Order (MCO).
Amira said that she and her housemates had been looking after Momo for the past five months, and the feline's health is well taken care of.
Amira, who returned to her home in Kluang, Johor, was the last from her rented house to return home. All her other housemates had returned home before the enforcement of the MCO on March 18.
"I did not have the heart to leave Momo behind in the rented house as there was no one to look after him while I was away. I was also not sure when I would return to Nilai," she said when contacted here today.
Upon being informed by the USIM secretariat that she would be sent home, Amira said she immediately purchased a cat carrier and other feline needs for Momo.
The final year Quran and Sunnah student said though the journey home was quite long, her cat did not cause any hassle and is now trying to adjust to its new surroundings at her family home in Taman Sentosa.
Momo's presence at Dewan Tuanku Canselor USIM on Friday night caught the attention of Higher Education Minister Datuk Dr Noraini Ahmad, who was present to witness the process of the students' departure for home.
Meanwhile, USIM's Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs and Alumni, Associate Prof Dr Mohd Rushdan Mohd Jailani, said that so far, 87 USIM students have safely returned home in several phases.
"We ensure that every standard operating procedure (SOP) was complied with by the students before, during and after their sending home process," he said.