Fear stops Tamil schools from accepting funds

Christmas came early for Tamil schools in Selangor, but there were fewer takers than anticipated for the RM4 million that the Selangor government was prepared to fork out.

Perennially short of resources, 97 Tamil schools in the state were to have benefitted from the allocation made under the state government’s 'communitarian economy' programme .

However, only 11 schools registered with the state government for financial aid, to be used to improve infrastructure and facilities.

This morning, Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim disbursed a total of RM65,000 to their representatives. About 200 members of Parents-Teachers Associations (PTAs), NGOs and the public attended the event at the Petaling Jaya Civic Centre.

Speculation has it that many principals had been advised by the Selangor Education Department not to attend the function, since the state government has been led by opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat since the March general election.

At a press conference afterwards, Khalid (second from left in photo) brushed aside a question as to whether the education minister was behind the poor response, saying it is a non-issue.

“Maybe I am not a true politician, but I do not think the minister knows about this...the state government will continue its initiatives to bring people together,” he said.

Khalid said he assumes the minister has enough “political intelligence” not to discriminate against people by preventing them from getting proper education.

“I do not want to quarrel over this. This is not an issue, but a matter of ensuring that both the federal and the state government have the same priority. As far as the state government is concerned, human resources are our priority.”

‘Instructions given’

Two PTA representatives interviewed later revealed that their principals had received instructions not to attend the event.

Kinrara school PTA president Michael Tamil (left) said the headmaster had received verbal instructions.

“He told me that he had received such instructions...I don’t see the rationale for this,” he said.

S Sugumaran of the Persiaran Raja Muda Musa school said the principal had received a phone call from the state education department, which issued similar ‘advice’.

“But the headmaster encouraged me to attend instead...she actually wanted to come but it would have been hard for her because she would have been easily identified (by the authorities),” he added.

Addressing participants at the event, state exco member Dr Xavier Jayakumar - who handles the health, plantation workers, poverty and caring government portfolio - said he had sent two letters to the education department director, seeking consent for the principals to attend the event.

Instead, he claimed, the department had warned them against doing so.

“I have learnt that (the officials) had made numerous phone calls to the principals,” said Jayakumar.

However, he said it was a positive sign that many others had shown up despite the directive.

“Even though we faced some hurdles before the event, I thank you all for coming today...because this is about our children’s priority, rather than that of politicians,” he said, drawing cheers from the crowd.

Khalid, in his speech said the department director had no reason to fear the state government.

“To have that kind of fear is strange...they have to understand we are not here to quarrel with then, but to fight for the rights of the people,” he said.

He also pledged to audit the use of the funds, to ensure that the money is not misused and does not fall into the wrong hands.

“I will make sure every (ringgit) is counted,” he said.