GPS Youth glad Maszlee willing to work closely with S’wak govt on dilapidated school issue

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KUCHING: The Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) Youth takes the statement by Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik to resolve the dilapidated school issue in Sarawak positively.

GPS Youth was also glad that Maszlee had expressed intention to work very closely with the Sarawak government on the matter.

However, GPS Youth found it laughable when Maszlee said he wanted Sarawak to reduce politicking because his own statement was also politically calculated to point fingers at the Sarawak government when it comes to the same matter.

GPS Youth also found it unfair and insulting for Maszlee to compare Sarawak to his hometown in Johor when referring to the development change in the last 40 years.

They were referring to Maszlee’s recent statement when he visited two primary schools in Bintulu, that the condition of the dilapidated schools reminded him of schools in his hometown Skudai Kiri in Johor Bahru during the 1970s and 1980s.

“This is because the size of Sarawak is as big as the whole Peninsular Malaysia while Maszlee’s hometown is very much smaller,” the GPS Youth said in a joint press statement issued by chairmen of the Youth wing of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).

They said Maszlee was naive as he appeared not to know the cause of predicament of Sarawakians.

They also reminded Maszlee that matters surrounding education is under the purview and jurisdiction of the federal government and not that of the state government.

Maszlee was also reminded of the fact that even current Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad who is Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) chairman was himself an Education Minister from 1974 to 1978.

In fact, all of the key leaders in the current Pakatan Harapan were once Education minister – Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (1986-1991) Bersatu deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (2009-2013 and 2013-2015).

“Pointing finger should now stop if all want to move forward in overcoming the issue on dilapidated schools in Sarawak. Schools are platform to produce future national leaders. As all of the dilapidated schools are aged around 30 to 40-year-old, now its time to rebuild and/or upgrade them.

“The issue should have not been politicised. When the Sarawak government expressed its desire in countering the issue, the state leaders were not politicising it but only serious in wanting to see these schools rebuilt or upgraded for the sake of educational development in the state,” they said.

“If the federal government wants to see Sarawak having autonomy in educational development in particular, then the federal government must return the rights of the state over ownership of oil and gas in Sarawak territory.”

GPS Youth noted that the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) government had approved RM2.5 billion to repair and upgrade dilapidated schools in 2018 and 2019, with the the breakdown was such RM1 billion for Sarawak, RM1 billion for Sabah and RM500 million for Peninsular Malaysia.

Prior to the last General Election in 2018, the previous BN government had allocated RM419.05 million to repair and rebuild dilapidated schools in Sarawak.

A total of 50 schools were built by the Public Works Department at the cost of RM138.45 million while another 66 schools were built by the Education Ministry at the cost of RM280.6 million.

Another 17 dilapidated schools are pending completion.

The balance of RM581 million in allocation for this will be brought forward to 2019.

Despite this substantial allocation by the previous BN government, GPS Youth said the current Pakatan Harapan (PH) federal government only allocated RM100 million for the whole country, which went to show how unfair the PH federal government was in the distribution of allocation for educational development.

GPS was formed when all four components of Sarawak BN left the BN coalition months after the May 9 2018 parliamentary election.