ISKANDAR PUTERI: Kayaker Siti Nurul Masyitah Md Elias, 22, is currently in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at a private hospital here after she was severely injured in a collision with a drunk driver.
Her brother, Muhamad Syafiq, 29, said she underwent pelvic and right shoulder bone surgeries yesterday and is now in stable condition.
“Both surgeries were done simultaneously, and the next one will be for plastic surgery,“ he said when met at the hospital here today.
He said the accident occurred as his sister was heading to the training centre at the Johor Canoe Association in Bakar Batu, Johor Bahru.
The athlete's mother, Saloma Ramli, 58, expressed her deep sadness over the accident and hopes the authorities will take appropriate action against the perpetrator.
Meanwhile, State Youth, Sports, Entrepreneurship, and Cooperative Development Committee chairman, Mohd Hairi Mad Shah said the state government would monitor the athlete's progress and provide the necessary assistance.
He said the Johor State Sports Council (MSN) is prepared to cover her future education expenses.
“MSN has assured us that they will cover her educational expenses once she has recovered. We have a special fund for athlete education, including support for diploma and degree programmes,“ he said.
Siti Nurul Masyitah, a sixth-semester Mechanical Engineering (Manufacturing) Diploma student at Politeknik Ibrahim Sultan (PIS), was a Malaysian Dragon Boat Kayak team member that won a bronze medal at the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia.
She was riding her motorcycle when she was rear-ended by a Toyota Vios last Saturday at KM 3.5 of the Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL) Highway heading towards Kota Tinggi.
South Johor Bahru police chief ACP Raub Selamat, in a statement said the accident resulted in the victim sustaining fractures to her right shoulder and pelvic bone, as well as leg injuries, while the car driver was unharmed.
He added that the male driver, in his 30s, who tested positive for alcohol, has been arrested, and the case is being investigated under Section 44 of the Road Transport Act 1987.
