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SJKT Lauderdale gets new building!

August 12th, 2009
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Readers would have remember about SJKT Lauderdale which appeared in this blog last April. Today, Dr Sree updated us (via email) on the progress (or should I say success of this project):

Dear MI Club Members and Friend ,
Ear ly this year in January , The headmaster from the Ladang Lauderdale Tamil school called me requesting for sponsorship for their school annual sports day function . Due to lack of funds they were not able to proceed with their plans to have their sports day .
I went to the school to see the condition of the school which appeared to be depressing .
The school was build in 1947 . Over the years the number of students increased but the school building remained the same . 64 children were accomondated into this small building by dividing this building into 6 classroom , a computer room and school office . In the summer the whole building felt like sitting in an oven .
As most of you know , I brought up this matter in MI Club after my visit . We had several discussions regarding this matter . Many kind members from all over Malaysia , Singapore , Kuwait , Japan and even Germany responded in kindness . Some Sponsored all the new tables and chairs , Some sponsored new cabinets , Some in the form of revision books and also paid the schools fees of several students .
We managed to raise some amount of money in order to sponsor the sports day and it was more then enough . Members of MI Club gathered in the school somewhere at the end of march during the school sports day . We handed the money to the headmaster . It was also understood that the school requires extra classrooms to ease the congestion .
It was decided that we will proceed to raise funds for building of the classroom .
I met the berkat share holder who owns the estate for permission to build extra classrooms on their land . Their responded immediatedly by clearing the land making way for the building . The PPD was also generous by providing extra funds for the building of the classroom .
With just sufficient funds and with the moral support from all the MI club members we proceeded to build the classroom which began in early MAY . We were hoping to complete the building by JUNE but due to the weather condition , the work was delayed and eventually work finished at the end of JULY and the children moved to their new classroom in AUGUST .
The current classroom was designed with higher ceilling and the roof build in such a way to provide cooling effect to the classroom . Further the floors were layed with marble tiles to add addition cooling effect .
When I walked into the room , it felt cool and fresh .
The previous building which had 6 classrooms are now spaced out to 3 classrooms . We do hope in future we will be able to build another 3 similar classrooms in order to accomodate more students . The land for another 3 more classrooms has already been allocated to the school .
Taking such a huge responsibility was a huge task for me . It continously worried me .
I would like to thank all my friends especially MI Club moderator Jega and others like Poobalan , Sathia and Shamalan who continously adviced me on the proper procedures and also all the MI CLub members who never failed to give moral support .
Thank you dear friends . Without all of you this would not have happen .
Dr.SREEDHARAN PHF , MBBS, FAGE
This is just one example of how we can get things done provided there’s proper leadership, trust, support and commitment.  I have to mentionthat Dr Sree played a major role in this project. Myself , not even 1% of the effort.
Hopefully we can replicate this model successfully, little by little.

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KTMB approves land for school after 10 years!

August 4th, 2009
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 This news came out on Malaysiakini (July 28). The community which slogged for KTM in the yesteryears have to wait 10 years for an approval (and that too with the struggle of a political party). Syabas to KTM!  We should be thankful that at least they gave the approval.  Let’s give them full marks for the CSR.

The 10-year struggle by MIC to get railway land approval for the reconstruction of termite-infested SJK (T) Perak Sangeetha Sabah has finally seen the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel when Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) approved the application recently.

The wooden-double storey wooden building situated on a 0.3ha land along Jalan Tun Abdul Razak is in the heartland of the Indian community in Ipoh city and has an enrolment of 178 pupils.

Malaysiakini had recently highlighted this long-standing problem when the dilapidated primary school (right) could not accommodate the growing number of Indian schoolchildren in this area.

Today, Perak MIC chief G Rajoo told the media that all the pupils and staff of the school will be temporarily relocated at SK Buntong at the end of the month.

“The construction work on the new four-storey building costing RM2.3 million will commence on Aug 17 and is expected to be completed in a year’s time,” Rajoo stated.

Old school replaced

The old school, built in 1934 consisted of six-classrooms, will now make way for a 12-classroom new school.

On July 10, MIC president S Samy Vellu had expressed his frustration at KTMB’s refusal to approve the railway land for construction of the new school.

He is said to have wanted to take up the matter with Transport Minister Ong Tee Keat.

Rajoo (left) further stated that a total of RM 6 million has been allocated for the construction and expansion of three Tamil primary schools which includes SJK (T) Sangeetha.

The other two schools which will have a new extension wing each are SJK (T) Ghanthi Kalasalai in Sungai Siput with 10 additional classrooms and SJK (T) Tan Sri Datuk Manickavasagam situated in Tanjong Malim with six additional classrooms.

“Another eight Tamil schools will either undergo reconstruction or extension of the buildings,” said Rajoo.

The schools are: SJK(T) Ladang Beruang River in Tanjung Malim, SJK(T) Methodist (Malim Nawar), SJK(T) Ladang Kota Bharu(Gopeng), SJK(T) Ladang Batuk Rabit (Teluk Intan),SJK(T) Ladang Flemington(Sungai Sumun), SJK(T) Noba Scotia 2 (Teluk Intan), SJK(T) Jebong Lama(Matang) and SJK(T) Ladang Gabis( Padang Rengas).

Earlier, Samy voiced out his frustation (and he should do more of this so that the community can know who the culprits are):

“They have forgotten the sacrifices made by Indians who played a major role in the construction of the railway track from Ipoh to Padang Besar,” said Samy.

… “KTMB must remember that the railway track could not have been completed without the manpower of Indians. Many sacrificed their lives when the Padang Rengas railway tunnel was being built,” said Samy

“KTMB has conveniently forgotten the history of the Indian community’s contributions to the construction of the railway network,” he added.

He said there is a big Indian community concentrated in this area and more Indian children want to enrol in SJK (T) Perak Sangeetha Sabah.

“But there is not enough space to accommodate them unless KTMB gives permission to rebuild the school.”

Samy pointed out that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak (right) had given RM100 million, and former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had allocated another RM30 million for the construction of 60 new Tamil schools.

The money is also for repairs and extension of buildings for Tamil schools in the country.

“SJK (T) Perak Sangeetha Sabah is on the list schools which is to benefit from the allocations, but KTMB is denying the Indian community the right to study in a newly-built school.

‘I’m going to speak Tee Keat’

“When we have the funds (to build new schools)… we do not have the land and, when we have the land… we do not have the funds,” said a frustrated Samy (below).

“I’m going to speak to transport minister Ong Tee Keat about this matter (KTMB’s decision not to allow MIC to build a new school),” he said.

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Posted in BornInMalaysia, Indian, Tamil-Schools

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Promise for shoplot school

August 4th, 2009
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I’m sure some of you guys who have received an email about a school in a shoplot. That wasn’t something that happened in a faraway land, but right here in Negeri Sembilan. SJKT Ladang Sungai Salak is the infamous school I’m talking about. It was sharing building with another school for 5 years before moving into a shoplot in July 2007. Not sure if its listed in Malaysian Book of Records for the tremendous achievement.

Anyway, the school is in the limelight again because Senator P.Murugiah (he who is often seen as butting into other people’s territory) made a visit to the school recently. He also said that the school will get their own place next year and said that he will talk to Deputy Education Minister about this problem. Following this, Deputy Education Minister Puad Zarkashi said that the Education Ministry will help relocate SJK(T) Ladang Sungai Salak, citing “the 120 pupils should be studying in a more conducive environment and not be crammed in classrooms.”

“The school can be a fire trap. We will find ways to relocate it soon,” he said after visiting SJK(C) Ladang Hillside near here.

According to Puad, the Government has allocated RM975,000 for the construction of the school but it was delayed as the school had not been able to secure a plot for the purpose. Puad said the state Education Department would help school authorities to look for a piece of land in Lukut to build a new school.

Contrasting that is the statement in the earlier posting, where school said there no cooperation and help from the authorities to secure land or place. The school obviously couldn’t find land by itself. What is the purpose of having an Education Department, one may ask.

Anyway, the issue got interesting because MIC Negeri Sembilan claims Murugiah is trying to claim credit for the hard work put in by MIC for last two years in securing land for the school. The relocation to shoplot was secured through MIC 2 years ago. If not, maybe the schools be virtually closed down without any venue. Rajagopalu, MIC state chief, also said some different about the land:

He said the party had laid the groundwork to relocate the school to a nearby land acquired by the Education Ministry for RM1.5mil.

He added that MIC secretary-general Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam, who is also the Human Resources Minister, had already spoken to Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on the matter.

So, now we are not sure what is exactly going on with land status. Is there land available or not?

Whatever it is, hopefully the promise by the Deputy Education Minister materialises soon. No more excuse about land office not helpful or no land found etc.

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students suffer from pollution

July 2nd, 2009
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I guess the lack of enforcement causes this problem. Imagine two development projects and you in the middle. How la? I don’t like to say it but I think probably the developers and authorities are not so bothered because its just another Tamil school. Hopefully the developer will do something to reduce the pollution or maybe the parents need to protest to get noticed.

Dust makes school daily torture

KUANTAN: Labourer R. Batumalai knows the value of a good education but off and on these past few months, he was forced to stop his son from going to school because of health reasons.

His 10-year-old son Viknaraja has asthma and his problem worsened from breathing in the dust churned up by the two construction projects near his school, SRJK (T) Bandar Indera Mahkota.

Work began early this year on two government projects to build multi-storied buildings.

The school, which has more than 400 pupils, is sandwiched in between the two sites. Batumalai, 49, said the school population had to endure the daily problem of dust and muddied roads.

“My son often complains of cough, sore throat and breathing difficulties and has to miss school for days. He is not the only one. His classmates have been missing classes since the construction work started.
“I don’t want my son’s health to be affected yet I don’t want his grades to fall. This can’t go on,” said the father of three.

K. Sangaran, 53, said his niece in Year Six also complained of the dirt and the noise coming from the sites.

“The school’s window panes are coated with dust. The roads around the school leading towards the sites are muddy.

“It gets dusty on hot days but when it rains, mud flows onto the roads and into the school compound.

“The pupils are forced to trek through the mud to get to their classes. Imagine having to face this daily. How can they study in a polluted environment like this?”

Sangaran said the pupils often complained of itchy eyes and skin and believed these were caused by the dust.

“There is also the noise problem. With such a racket coming from the sites, how can the children study and concentrate?”

Headmaster R. Govindasamy said the parent-teacher association met the developers and asked them to show consideration for the pupils but their pleas seemed to have fallen on deaf ears.

He said the problem was also raised with the state Education Department and the Kuantan Municipal Council.

“The Year Six classes are the ones directly affected as their classrooms are near the road. When it is windy, they have to close all windows yet the dust manages to come in,” said Govindasamy.

A council spokesman said action would be taken against the developer for failing to keep the roads in the area clean.

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Selangor gives aid to tamil schools

June 28th, 2009
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Charles Santiago (MP Klang) provides the details on his blog. Basically, the state government is “going to” build 10 pre-schools in Tamil schools.  According to Xavier Jayakumar, the effort will be jointly done with three NGOs, and expected 30-40 pre-schools to be established in three years.

According to him, about 42 percent of students who enter year one in SJKT do not know how to read and write, due to the inability of the low-income parents to send them to pre-schools. The state government will offer “discounts” to these parents.

Xavier presented RM1.6 million to 3 NGOs – Child Information Learning and Development Centre (Child)  (RM300,000), Education Welfare and Research Foundation (EWRF) (RM150,000) andTamil Foundation (RM182,250).

Among the schools targetted are : SJKT Taman Permata and SJKT Ladang Ampar Tenang, Dengkil; SJKT Ladang Bukit Raja, Klang; SJKT Ladang Sungai Terap, Kuala Selangor and SJKT Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi Sepang.

He added that approval and cooperation from parents, school and school board is needed. If there’s not approval, they will look for other schools. Teachers will hired and provided proper training.

Note: the amount given to NGOs did not total up to RM1.6 million. Another posting in his blog mentioned that 27 Tamil schools also received cheques, so maybe its included in the RM1.6 million. Let’s see if this appears in major papers later.

SJKT Bukit Darah also has plans to start a pre-school, so hopefully it can be included.

My question: doesn’t it require Ministry of Education (federal) approval on premise use, syllabus, teacher hiring, etc?

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