Abang Johari (fourth right) cutting the cake to mark the 127th Anniversary of SK Abang Ali joined by his wife Juma’ani Tuanku Bujang (fifth right), (from third right), Wong, Bustari and Hamdi.
SIBU: The 127-year-old SK Abang Ali will soon have a new building costing RM3.5 million to cater to the needs of its teachers and pupils.
Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg announced the upgrade when officiating at the 127th Anniversary Dinner of SK Abang Ali here on Saturday.
He said the project will commence this year.
“Teachers need to be given a better place and our children need to have a building for them to rest or carry out co-curricular activities. The building plan for the teachers’ room and hall (dewan) shown by the architect is quite sophisticated,” Abang Johari said.
In this regard, he had approved RM2.5 million while corporate figure Tan Sri Bustari Yusuf chipped in RM1 million for the project.
“Tonight (Saturday) we have an allocation of RM2.5 million for us to build this extra building; we are short of RM1 million. I negotiated with Tan Sri Bustari Yusuf, who was a former pupil of the school and promise him if he could contribute RM1 million, I will sing. So, there is a ‘deal’,” he said in jest.
For the record, the administrative block will house teachers, seminar and meeting rooms besides diversion to traffic flow and parking lots.
“We have a long term programme to develop the school, including a secondary school but I cannot reveal much yet as I need to find a way,” he said.
At the same function, Abang Johari announced the appointment of Assistant Minister of Education and Technological Research Dr Annuar Rapaee to head the school development committee.