Media Statement by M. Kula in Parliament on Thursday, 22^th April 2010:

SJKT Ladang Escot finally gets Tenaga Nasional electricity because of Hulu Selangor by election

Two days ago, I have moved a parliamentary motion to cut RM 10 from the additional supplementary expenditures requested by the Ministry of Education.

I have made the proposal as a way to censure the Education Minister and the BN government for their neglect of Tamil primary schools, in particular, SJKT Ladang Escot, Ulu Behrang.

Despite the fact the nation has achieved Merdeka since 1957 and that the Prime Minister has recently declared that Malaysia will become a high income economy and developed nation in 10 years time, SJKT Ladang Escot has been without Tenaga Nasional electricity supply since its existence in 1940.

While the BN government has always liked the people to believe that the schools which are still without supply of Tenaga Nasional electricity are those located in the deep interior of Sabah or Sarawak, SJKT Ladang Essot is here in West Malaysia, and is only located about 300m from the Ipoh to Kulala Lumpur main road and the Universiti Pelajaran Sultan Idris 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.

After such long neglect, the BN government has suddenly woken up and I have been informed by the school’s PIBG Chairman this morning that the BN government has agreed to solve the school’s plight and Tenaga Nasional workers have started the work of laying of cables this morning.

I have no doubt that the school, being located in the constituency of Hulu Selangor, must thank the by election for such positive development.

If it were not for the Hulu Selangor by election where every vote counts, I believe the BN government will continue to take the people for granted and the school will continue to go on without supply of electricity from Tenaga Nasional.

Be that as it may, I must remind the BN government that the long standing land issue faced by the school must be resolved or at least there must be a concrete commitment from the Federal government to resolve the issue within three months, no matter which party wins in the Hulu Selangor by election.

The school was once asked to vacate its premises by the previous owner and the present owner, FG Manufacturing, has also in 2006 told the school to do the same.

The BN government must either allocate an alternative place for the school or acquire the present piece of land so as to solve land issue once and for all.

Lastly, I wish to remind the BN government not to take the people’s support for granted and only resolve their plight when election or by election arrives.

The people have eyes to see and they will not cast their votes for a government which has taken them and their support for granted for such a long time.

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