Richard Wee
KUCHING: Sarawak United Association of Private Chinese Secondary School Management Board is considering accepting the 2,000 hectares of land given by the state government in remote Baram and stopped lobbying for alternative land nearer to town.
The only ‘obstacle’ standing in the way now is the one-time premium of more than RM1 million that comes attached with the offer.
The board’s vice-chairman Richard Wee told The Borneo Post yesterday that it had a change of mind due to the generosity of Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem in giving an annual grant of RM3 million for private schools.
“The chief minister even promised more to come. In view of the annual grant he had given, the promise to increase it later, and that he listened to our plight and appeal, we feel we should just accept the land and try not to complicate the matter to show our gratitude.
“However, we hope the government would take a step further in helping us by waiving the one-time premium, which is more than RM1 million.
“A lot of our schools are already in deficit. To raise RM1 million just to pay off the premium is really a burden for us.”
He said the Board would also stop pursuing the matter on finding another piece of land to replace the one given because the annual grant given by the state government had lessen the burden of the Board.
There are 14 private Chinese secondary schools in Sarawak. The RM3 million from the state government helped some small scale ones by reducing their deficit by half.
“Seventy per cent of the RM3 million has been distributed equally among the 14 schools, regardless of their size. The remaining 30 per cent will be distributed according to student population.
“With the grant and the formulae that we have, the annual deficit of some smaller schools such as Ming Lik Secondary School of Sarikei, which has been running a deficit of RM300,000 to RM400,000, will have their deficit cut by half.”
He said an annual grant of between RM5 million and RM7 million would be sufficient to keep all the schools going, and if Adenan could do that, he would win more respect and support from the Chinese community.
“To break even for all the 14 private Chinese secondary schools, we need about RM8 million to RM10 million annually. But I should not be so greedy, and we, in the board, should also shoulder a certain degree of responsibility.
“So, I believed an annual grant of between RM5 million and RM7 million will be more than sufficient for us. With that amount, the Chinese community will be very grateful to Adenan,” said Wee, who is also vice-chairman of the Federation of Kuching and Samarahan Divisions Chinese Associations, Sarawak.
While Tun Pehin Sri Taib Abdul Mahmud was still in office, he gave the 2,000 ha to the Board as the latter had been asking for it, hoping it could be used to generate income.
But after Board knew the location of the land, there had been calls by its members to exchange it for another piece of land nearer to town, which Adenan, who by then had taken office, agreed.