Sarawak DAP today accepts the challenge from the Sarawak United People’s Party (Supp) to build a school if the government allows the party to do it, while Parti Keadilan Rakyat Sarawak accuses SUPP of being irresponsible.

the antidote article sarawak native logging school children 280409 01 “Give us a licence, we will do it and we will get the public to donate,” said Voon Lee San, the Sarawak DAP treasurer.

Voon who is state assemblyperson for Batu Lintang was responding to the challenge thrown by Supp president George Chan at the Opposition.

Chan, who is deputy chief minister first threw the challenge during the recent sitting of the Dewan Undangan Negeri and repeated his challenge in Miri a couple of days ago.

Voon said that the constitution does not allow the Opposition to build schools, pointing out that “the matter is the responsibility of the government”.

voon lee shan He said: “For the Opposition to build schools, the government must first change the constitution, and if we are allowed to build schools, the government must run them, provide teachers and equipment.”

Voon recalled the Merdeka University issue, which the DAP and the Chinese community wanted to build, with Mandarin as a medium of instruction, but the government had flatly rejected the idea.

Voon also called on the state government to build a Dayak school so that native languages like the Iban language could be taught.

State gov't's responsibility to build schools

dominique ng interview 010606 gesturing Meanwhile, PKR state assemblyperson for Padungan, Dominique Ng said that it is downright irresponsible of Supp from the ruling coalition government to push responsibility to the Opposition to build schools.

“It is the current government’s policy to control all schools and its curriculum.

"A PKR-led government will assume responsibility to support all institutions of learning and will provide annual grants to Chinese and mission schools to ensure our children going to such schools will not be deprived of proper education,” he said.

The Supp president must have been very angry when the Opposition YBs persistently accused Supp of failing to honour its election promises to build schools.

The Opposition should just shut up and start building at least one Chinese primary school in the state instead of hurling accusations at Supp and the government, he said in remarks published by the local papers in Miri.

Fed up with the unfair accusations as the party had been building Chinese schools consistently in its years of struggle, Chan said: “We still build schools while we were in the Opposition, so stop saying you will build Chinese schools when you form the government.

“You go and build one school which cost RM6 million as we have done in Kuching, and you tell how easy it is,” he said to reporters in Miri.

What happened to the TAR college branch?

Another issue that has irked the Supp president was the proposal to build a branch of TAR college in Meradong. DAP state assemblyperson for Meradong, , had accused Supp of reneging in its election promise to the people of the constituency.

ting pek khiing During the campaign for the 2008 parliamentary election, a businessman Ting Pek Khiing promised to build the college in Meradong and had donated a piece of land.

Chan said that Supp and the government gave their full support because it had always been their policy to encourage and assist the private sector to initiate or provide institutions of higher learning at affordable costs to the people of the state.

It was said that the promise to build the college had caused DAP to lose the Sarikei parliamentary seat when its candidate Wong Hua She was defeated by Ding Kuong Hiing (SUPP-BN) by a majority of 51 votes.

But now Ting has decided to pull out and will not build the college.

george chan hong nam Chan told the Dewan Undangan Negeri that Supp had not given up the idea to build the college, although Ting had pulled out and he (Chan) promised to find ways and means to build it.

According to Chan, Ting pulled out as he had been the target of smear campaigns and accusations that the TAR college branch proposal was meant to hoodwink the people.

The defeated DAP candidate had also filed an election petition against Ting accusing him of using the proposed project as a form of “bribery”, said Chan in his winding up speech.

It was therefore understandable, natural and logical for Ting to be discouraged.

Chan accused DAP of throwing a “spanner in the wheel” and jeopardised the set-up of the college, adding: “Supp did not break its promise as we have done our best on this matter.”