Malaysia Update

KUALA LUMPUR: Being located in the heart of the capital city did not give extra advantage to some schools.

This is true in the case of two schools which Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin visited yesterday.

He was upset to see how rundown SJK (T) Ladang Bukit Jalil was and the less than satisfactory state of SMK Setapak Indah.

The moment he arrived at the schools, Muhyiddin rolled up his sleeves and got down to work.

“I can observe for myself what the headmasters and principals have mentioned in their reports and at the same time look at the schools, too,” he said.


Face to face: Muhyiddin speaking to students of SMK Setapak Indah during his visit to the school Thursday.
After spending almost two hours at SJK (T) Ladang Bukit Jalil, Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, said he was sad to see the condition of the school.

“Although the Government has provided aid, the school infrastructure is not very good. It is also hot and uncomfortable for the pupils and teachers,” he said.

At the end of his visit, Muhyiddin announced that the school would be relocated to another piece of land nearby.

“Work to construct the new school building on the 0.4ha land will start once the tender has been awarded,” he said.

The school, which was presently partially aided, he added, would become fully aided once it was constructed on government land.

The work was expected to take 18 months, he said, adding that teachers and pupils should be able to start the new school year there in 2011.

The allocation for the project was almost RM2mil and more than RM1mil had already been approved, he added.

SJK (T) Ladang Bukit Jalil headmistress Tamilselvi Suppiah said the 75-year-old school was originally built on estate land, and had six classrooms for 92 pupils from Years One to Six, and 14 teachers.

“Our enrolment figures started to drop after the school was affected by floods 13 times in the last two years,” she said.

At SMK Setapak Indah, Muhyiddin said the building was structurally safe despite cracks and some subsiding of the soil.

Work to repair these would be carried out immediately, he said, adding that the Public Works Department would also conduct a detailed study on the matter.