School relocated from cemetery to basement

Source : M.Kini


The SRJK (T) Ladang Bukit Jalil earned a reprieve of sorts when the Deputy Education Minister Dr Wee Ka Siong visited them on Tuesday.

For instead of moving the 102 school children to an area meant to house the dearly departed, Wee suggested the ground floor of Kuala Lumpur City Hall's (DBKL) low-cost flats instead.

The flats are part of a relocation plan for estate workers, who for years tapped rubber in the area before the land was reclaimed by the government.

While most of the land was developed into the Bukit Jalil national stadium for the Commonwealth Games in 1998, condominiums and even medium cost housing, scant attention was paid to the rubber tappers who were there prior to Independence.

Of the 1,600 acres which were bought by the government, only 40 acres are left for the rubber tapping community of mostly Indian descent.

To add to their misery, according to a DBKL development plan, 13 hectares are already earmarked as Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu and Christian burial sites.

In a report last November, a plot of land among the cemeteries measuring 0.4 ha was reserved for the Tamil school and a Hindu temple.

At a press conference today, the Tamil Foundation Malaysia (TFM), EWRF, Group of Concerned Citizens and other NGOs expressed their unhappiness with the new proposal made by the deputy minister.

TFM president K Uthayasoorian said the ground floor of the said flats where residents park their vehicles and dump rubbish was a poor choice for the school to move to.

"Moreover, unsavoury elements tend to hang around these places and will pose a danger to the students," said Uthayasoorian.

Enrolment would suffer

Another reason which makes the ground floor an unacceptable choice was that the flats were only a transit point for displaced families, he said.

"The enrolment will suffer the most when the tenancy agreements for these families are not renewed after three years," he added.

Parent Teacher Association chairman S Balakrishnan also voiced their concerns over the absence of proper documentation for the temporary relocation of the said school.

Balakrishnan told Malaysiakini that until now there are no written agreements on how long the relocation will last or when the new school will be built has been forthcoming.

"In the absence of any black-and-white (proper contracts), we won't go anywhere," said Balakrishnan.

"We are worried if there is no definite deadline, the school may be just left there (under the DBKL flats) forever," he added.