Speech by M. Kula while debating on the necessity to deduct RM 10 from the additional supplementary estimates for Education Ministry in Dewan Rakyat on Monday, 19^th April 2010:

Our nation has achieved Merdeka since 1957. The Barisan Nasional government and the previous Alliance governments have been in government since 1955.

It was only on March 30 this year that the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib announced the New Economic Model with the aim to make Malaysia a high income economy and a developed nation.

But today in Hulu Selangor, we still have a Tamil primary school which does not even have supply of electricity. This school, SKJT Ladang Escot, Tanjung Malim, is located at about 1 km from the main road- Ipohto Kuala Lumpur( old road) and University Pelajaran Sultan Idris(UPSI) campus.

The school is run with a generator and the diesel is supplied by the PIBG. Monthly the expenses come to about RM 300. Since there is no electricity supply, the teachers can’t use computers to teach Science subjects and the students can’t use computers. The generator is so noisy and this affects the students’ concentration to study.

For so many years the school PIBG has approached the former MP for Hulu Selangor Datuk G Palanaivel on this matter but there has been no outcome. It is therefore not surprising that based on ground feedback; Palanivel was not nominated as the BN candidate in the Hulu Selangor by election.

Another issue faced by the school is the land matter.I have been given to understand that the school was asked to vacate their premises in 1995 when it was owned by Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad (KLK).When the new owner Datuk Yahaya Koming of F.G Manufacturing bought the estate in 2006, the school was once again asked to vacate their premises.

The law firm Tengku Azlina, Rao, Low & Associates who represented the present owner F.G. Manufacturing, in their latter dated 3rd October 2006, had allowed the school to be there on a temporary basis and requested the school to find alternate site as soon as possible.

Dato K.Sivalingam the then EXCO of Selangor State in a letter dated 18th December 2006 addressed to the lawyers informed that the Selangor State EXCO had reaffirmed the condition that the employer/land owners must prepare 3 acres of land near the main road as replacement if the present school was asked to move.

In a meeting held on 28th December 2007,chaired by Tuan Norhisham Bin Ahmad Dahlan ,the Pegawai Daerahof Hulu Selangor to discuss the school land matter and which was attended by all the parties, the estate owner agreed to give 1 acre of land and they requested the balance 2 acres has to be discussed with the previous owner.

Why did MIC agree to 3 acres of land when it should be 6 acres?

According to the Manual Garis Panduan dan Piawaian Perancangan Negeri Selangor prepared by Jabatan Perancangan Bandar dan Desa Negeri Selangor :-

For Sekolah Rendah - Keluasan Tapak Tanah -a minimum of 2.4 hectar (6 acre) of land should be allocated if the ground is flat and 3.2 hectar (8 acre) if the site is slopey.The student per class ratio is 30-35 as per this guide line. And one school for a population of 3000-7500. But as of 2009, the school’s student per class ratio is about 50 and the size of fenced up area is only 0.5 acre.

The Prime Minister Datu Seri Najb has recently said that Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat has always been a BN stronghold which was “on loan” to Pakatan Rakyat in the 2008 general election and come April 25, Hulu Selangor must be returned to BN.

I say that the problems affected by SJKT Ladang Escot are examples of the years of neglect by the BN. It is a testimony that BN‘s pledge to bring development is only empty talk

Matters not addressed by Education Ministry

1. The government allocated RM130m, as part of the two stimulus packages, to build 133 Tamil Schools. All these school building are to have been completed by December 2009. How many of these schools have gotten their building? Many haven’t yet. Why not?

2. Around 70% of Tamil Schools are located in plantations; whereas 70% of Indian parents live in urban areas. There is a great need to relocate Tamil Schools in rural areas suffering depopulation to more strategic urban locations. Unfortunately, Ministry of Education is slow in allowing Tamil Schools to relocate. In Selangor, the State Government has already allocated two pieces of land in urban areas for Tamil Schools to relocate. Why nothing has been done?

3. The Education Act 1996 requires all National Type Schools (i.e. all Tamil Schools) to have board of governors. However, only around 10% of the schools currently boards. Moreover, the state school registrars regularly discourage Tamil School Headmasters from having school boards. What steps has the MOE taken to ensure every national type school has a school board?

4. The National Curriculum requires every Malaysian child to receive early childhood education. However, the Ministry of Education only has around 160 preschool classrooms catering to 4,000 children (10% of the total). What steps has MOE taken to rapidly increase these numbers? Why not work with private providers to ensure every Tamil School child receives early childhood education?

Hulu Selangor voters must not only reject BN on April 25, Parliament must today vote to cut by RM 10 from the expenditure requested by the Ministry of Education to censure the Education Minister and the BN government for neglecting SJKT Ladang Escot to the extent that it has been without the supply of electricity till today.

* M. Kula Segaran, DAP National Vice Chairman & MP for Ipoh Barat