SEVEN MALAYSIAN STUDENTS IN PERTH, AUSTRALIA MISSING

Seven Malaysians who are studying at several Australian universities have done a vanishing act. Three of the students are with Curtin University of Technology, Perth, while the others are at other institutions, also in Perth.
All of them are sponsored by a government-linked company.Umno Youth social welfare secretariat chairman Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim found this out after their parents voiced their fears. "The students may have been demoralised into giving up their studies."

In any case, we have contacted Wisma Putra, Interpol and the Malaysian students club in Australia for assistance."He added that the secretariat was prepared to fly the parents to Australia to find and coax them back to the university and not jeopardise their future.

One of the missing students is Norzarifah Kamarauzaman, 21, from Curtin, who had scored 9As in her Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination.She went to Australia last year but has failed to contact her family since Oct 6 this year.Her parents, Kamarauzaman Nasir, 50, and Noraini Daud, 48, were present at a press conference at the secretariat's office yesterday.
Noraini, a library assistant at Universiti Putra Malaysia, said Norzarifah had sent a short text message to her other daughter, Norzawani, on Sept 17, saying she had been hospitalised after consuming 50 tablets to relieve stress."Norzarifah's email account had also been terminated.

We lodged a report at the Kajang police station on Sept 23."We fear that Norzarifah may have deviated from Islam after befriending two Australian men when she was discharged from the hospital," said Noraini."Norzarifah had worked part-time as a cleaner with a company and quit studying last August after being promoted as a manager with an attractive income."