IS the government building a national, religious or vernacular school in Puchong? 

That’s the question hanging over the reserve land originally alienated for a national school in Taman Puchong Utama, Selangor.

Residents said clearing work has started on the plot of land, but it is to build a Chinese primary school, to which they object because they wish to have a national school instead.

Local assemblyman Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud, however, said the land belongs to the Selangor religious authorities, and has been earmarked for a religious school.

The land was gazetted in 1997 for the Education Ministry to build a national school.

“However the ministry had failed to pay the premium for the land, resulting in the state rejecting its application to utilise the land,” Siti Mariah, who is the Serdang rep, told The Malaysian Insight.

“The ministry then in 2019 wrote a letter to the Subang Jaya district council to amend the use of the land to build a Chinese primary school, SJKC Poi Min.

“The ministry had applied by paying the premium. However when the land office looked up the file, it realised that the piece of land had been gazetted to the Selangor Religious Department (Jais) for the purpose of building a religious school.”

She said Jais had applied for the land in 2014 and was granted it in 2017.

She said the Education Ministry had applied to build the Chinese school on the plot without realising that the land had been handed over to Jais.

“So there is no issue here. The land belongs to Jais as it has been gazetted so.”

Puzzling signs

Residents in the neighbourhood, however, are puzzled as the signs on the land indicate that the work is ongoing to build a Chinese school.

The residents’ representative, Salihin Hajah, 55, said last week that contractors hired by the Education Ministry had started clearing the land.

“We always knew the plan was to build a national school here but now we see work being done for a Chinese school,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

He said a check with the land office turned up another surprise –  land was actually assigned for a religious school.

“Our question is, how come the land assigned for a national school or a religious school has been given to build a Chinese school?”

When the residents contacted the local council, they were told that it has not given approval for the land to be cleared.

“It looks like no permission was given (to Education Ministry) to clear the land. So how is it that work is ongoing?”

Salihin said the local council had visited the land and sealed it.

‘Bigger need for national school’

On Wednesday the residents met Siti Mariah, who explained to them the correct status of the land.

He said that she informed that the Education Ministry had this year approved an allocation to relocate SJKC Poi Min from Gopeng in Perak.

“So they have to do the relocation this year if they want to use the allocation. No wonder the contractor was eager to work,” said Salihin.

He said the residents were opposed to the Chinese school as they felt there was a bigger need for a national school in the area.

Another resident, Taufiq Ilhami, told The Malaysian Insight that an application to build a Chinese school on the land was made by then state exco Teresa Kok in 2010.

He added that even then the residents had objected to the idea.
 
“When Teresa raised the issue in parliament then, then education minister Muhyiddin Yassin had said that the (BN) government had no plans to build a Chinese school in the area as it wanted to build a national school,” he said.

Taufiq said SJKC Poi Min was meant to be moved to Puchong Perdana and not Taman Puchong Utama.

Meanwhile, a source said the Education Ministry has also applied to convert land gazetted for national schools to build Chinese schools in three more areas.

The letter, which was sighted by The Malaysian Insight, stated the three sites are in Puchong, Kuala Selangor and Sepang. – January 12, 2020.