THE 122-year-old SMK Convent Bukit Nanas will be granted an extension on its land lease for 60 years, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.

The extension will be granted after consideration of the school’s contribution to the nation, a statement by the PMO said today.

The statement was also posted on Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s Facebook page.

“The government has considered the request by the governing board of SMK Convent Bukit Nanas for an extension on the school’s land lease, which expires on September 6, 2021,” the statement said.

“After studying and taking into account the important contributions of SMK Convent Bukit Nanas to national education since 1899, the government agrees that the lease for SMK Convent Bukit Nanas, located at Seksyen 49, Jalan Bukit Nanas, Kuala Lumpur, be extended for 60 years.

“This approval is specifically for the purpose of education only.”

The PMO also said the chief secretary to the government and the director of the Federal Territories Land and Mines Office had met Theresa Chua Siu Yan of the school’s governing board to discuss the matter and reach a solution.

The school board, run by the Lady Superior of the Society of Saint Maur, was informed by the land office last December that the lease would not be extended after its expiry on September 6 this year.

The school board then took legal action and has been granted an application for leave for a judicial review.

The land office’s director, Muhammad Yasir Yahya, however, told The Star two days ago that the non-extension was not to tear down the school but to enable it to be turned into a fully aided government school.

His statement raised questions from the school’s alumnae and educationists as to whether due process was followed as such a matter should have been under the purview of the Education Ministry and decided by the cabinet, instead of the land office.

The Federation of Christian Mission Schools in Malaysia (FCMSM) also said the school, established in 1899 by Catholic nuns, should not be taken over by the government as this would cause it to lose the characteristics and traditions of a mission school.

FCMSM said this was not the first time a mission school had been subjected to pressure to be turned into a government school.

The school is a Cluster School of Excellence and has consistently performed well in public examinations over the years. – April 22, 2021.