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Yet another controversy involving Tamil school. This time its about SJKT Midlands, formerly of Midlands estate, Shah Alam. After the city was developed, the estates disappeared, leaving behind problems such as temples and schools.
In a way, its good to have the opposition parties like MIC prod these things so that will keep the state government on its toes.
To recap, the problem started when Shah Alam MIC Youth leader and political bureau chairperson M Saravanan asked what the original piece of land in I-City will be used for. The school was meant to relocate from I-City to a 3-acre plot in Seksyen 7.
According to M Saravanan, the previous state government had allotted four acres of land with freehold title in I-City, Shah Alam, for the school. [Means new location is one acre less!]
He alleged that the Pakatan state government had sold the land to a third party based on information received from the school administration.
“Why was the school not informed that the land in I-City was sold to a third party?” [School should be informed about the change in location, or at least consulted first. The parents also need to know]
I-City is a RM1.5 billion project to build an advanced township in what was once Ladang Midlands, a plantation estate.
Residents in the estate have been relocated by the developer to Section 7, while the original plan was for a new building to replace the wooden structures of the old Tamil school in I-City. [So, residents move to Section 7, should the school move there as well?]
The new piece of land in Section 7 for the school is part of a seven-acre plot that was meant to be a recreation park. [school will be next to a park? not bad, considering earlier cases where schools were next to cemetery, sewerage ponds etc!]
According to Saravanan, the Shah Alam City Council will hold a public referendum to obtain feedback from Section 7 residents regarding the school. A hearing will be held on Nov 11. [At least got referendum…or is a feedback session?]
Saravanan is however certain that Section 7 residents would oppose the relocation of the school as it is a Malay-majority area. [well if the have the small mentality as creatures in Seksyen 23, it will be a problem]
The school is at present temporarily located in a one-storey building in another area of Section 7.
Malaysiakini got an immediate reply from ADUN Xavier:
In an immediate reaction, Health, Estate Workers, Poverty and Caring Government exco Dr Xavier Jayakumar said that the land for the Tamil school in I-City is not suitable as it is located in the midst of factories. [Err..in that case why put the school lot in the midst of factories in the original plan? Which genius was the planner? Which officer approved it? Publish the names!]
“Do you want the school to be built in an industrial area?”
He believed that the local council will be able to get support from Section 7 residents as a park will also be built along with the school.
Asked on the possibility of residents opposing the plan, he said that a preliminary inquiry held two months ago did not indicate any opposition from the residents. [itu dulu. Now got political influence. I think situation may change]
Xavier (above) also denied the claim that the land in I-City had been sold to a third party.
“MIC will definitely say everything is wrong. Why are they inciting racial hatred? They are no different from those in Umno who stopped the construction of a temple in Section 23,” Xavier countered MIC.
Xavier later provided more info in another article:
He also questioned why MIC was trying to create brouhaha over the relocation when the Selangor government is providing an equal amount of land for the construction of the school. [equal? earlier article mentioned 3-acre in Section 7 while 4 acre was allocated in I-City]
When asked the real story behind the Tamil school, he said that the school was part of Midlands Estate. The estate was bought by PKNS in the 1980s, he said.
“No land allocation was made in the master plan. Four acres of land were given. Even when Barisan Nasional developed I-City, they did not foresee the school. This should not have happened,” said Xavier.
He told Malaysiakini that I-City had offered to give six acres of land across the highway to build the school but the school’s Parent Teachers Association had opposed it.
“It would have been ideal but there would not be a direct route to the school,” he said, adding that transportation fees were a cause of concern for the parents.
The former Midlands estate residents have since been relocated to Section 7.
As for current plans in Section 7 Shah Alam, he said that the state government would upgrade the school by building two blocks of buildings on a four-acre plot of land. The school would be an ultra modern school complete with computer laboratories and air conditioning. [Now its 4-acres pulak in Section 7. So, the park reduced to 3 acres. The residents can accept this?]
Currently the school is occupying 1.4 to 1.5 acres of land, the state exco said.
“We are not compromising on anything. The children’s interests have been taken into consideration.”
Asked about the feedback from residents, Xavier said that the Shah Alam City Council had informed him that there was no adverse feedback. He also took the opportunity to assure residents that they would not lose their recreation park, which will be provided.
Xavier was also asked why only four acres were allocated when there are rules stating that it should be six acres.
He responded by saying that the six acres clause was only meant to be a guideline. The four acres allocated, he said, was ample enough for a vernacular school. [What does he mean by that? Vernacular school means less land? Why?]
“We’ll have to work around what we have.”
When asked on a possible opposition to the relocation as what happened to the temple relocation in Section 23 he had the following comment:
“If there are people opposing, the public must ask themselves: UMNO opposed the temple relocation, now MIC is instigating. What’s their objective?
“These are the people advocating 1Malaysia and yet why are they instigating (this)? Why can’t you live and let live?”
Xavier also hit out at MIC over their management of Tamil schools.
“How much land had they given to the Tamil school in Tumbok estate? Only 1.29 acres. In Damansara, (only) three acres out of six are used by them. MIC should set a standard by giving six acres of land to the school in Tumbok estate. [Hmm…goes on to show that MIC has many skeletons. End up becoming like the pot calling the kettle black. Oh ya, MIC is changing now, so no need to refer to past atrocities?]
Selangor MB, Khalid Ibrahim clarified that the school will be relocated to Seksyen 7, and not in I-City.
Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said the state government, which had been discussing the issue since last year, had found that it was not a suitable location for the school.
He criticised the previous state government’s decision to relocate the school.
“It was a decision that should not have been made,” he said when asked to comment on the status of the primary school.
… The old Tamil school was originally housed in a wooden structure in Ladang Midlands, a plantation, before it was moved to a nearby one-storey building in Section 7, to make way for development.
Khalid said the previous government had put a great burden on the developer, especially when the development involved only less than 40.5ha.
He said developers were not required to build schools or other public amenities if the development was less than 40.5ha.
Khalid added that the state government had allowed the I-City developer, which had a joint venture with international companies, to continue its plans on the commercial land.
“We should not only have faith in local and international investors, we should also not discriminate them,” he said.
He did not mention why it was not suitable location, but NST article below provided the reason:
Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said relocation was unnecessary as the current location was more suitable than the new location earmarked by the previous state government.
He said the site at I-City was unsuitable as there were many factories there.
“It is also unnecessary to have a Tamil school in the area,” he said after attending the monthly assembly of the Selangor State Development Corporation at Dewan Jubli Perak here yesterday. [probably because got no houses there?]
“We have allowed the developers at I-City to continue to develop the commercial area as planned.”
… Khalid replied that the school had no say over how the land would be used.
However, he said the state government would ensure that there was enough allocation for the development of other Tamil schools in the state.
Well, you tell me. Is there a controversy here? Any shaddy deals? Or just storm in empty teacup? Would the residents in Section 7 protest the relocation of the school? Since the residents from the estate was moved to Section 7, its logical that school also move to the same area. What’s the point of a having a school in the middle of a techno city while the middle/low income students are located in another place.
How about the parents, PTA and the school – what are their views?
I’m also interested to know how in the world did a school plot end up in the midst of factories. Please reveal the people involved in designing and approving the development plan. Should garland them with slippers.
