A lobby group, which has fought for the construction of a controversial Chinese school in USJ, Selangor, today obtained official status as part of the Chinese education movement to give it more clout.

The group, which has sought the construction of SJK(C) Chee Wen, is now the latest branch of the influential Chinese Schools Committees' Association of Selangor/KL (Dong Lian).

According to Dong Lian, the branch, called the Subang Jaya/USJ SJK(C) development working committee, has 20 members and is headed by USJ resident Gan Wah Lien.

"The committee comprises local residents who have been concerned and frustrated by the continued delay in the construction of Chee Wen and the absence of Chinese primary schools in the USJ area," read the statement.

Chee Wen was relocated from Batang Berjuntai in 1999 but is currently operating from five borrowed classrooms at another Subang Jaya school — SK SS17.

Vision school rejected

Among others, the statement said the committee aims to safeguard mother-tongue education and continue to develop Chinese schools.

They also plan to improve the reputation and teaching facilities of these schools and oppose efforts (by the government) to introduce monolingual education in all schools, it added.

Prior to its official formation, the committee's members — apart from the Chee Wen issue — were also campaigning for the conversion of the USJ15 vision school into a Chinese primary school.

Regarding Chee Wen, the members had met with state assemblyperson-cum-chairperson of the school board Lee Hwa Beng, Subang Jaya MP Dr K S Nijhar, and MCA president Dr Ling Liong Sik.

Whereas on the USJ 15 vision school, they submitted a memorandum, containing some 13,000 signatures, to the prime minister and minister of education.

"The campaign was prompted by the dire situation in the community where there are more than 100,000 Chinese residents in USJ and not a single SJK(C)," lamented Dong Lian.

Good response

Meanwhile, Gan was quoted in the statement as saying that the committee received good response and support from the area's community members in its previous campaigns and activities.

He added that a lot of parents have welcomed its setting up as it allows them an avenue to voice their views.

Another one of its achievements, Gan stressed, was to increase the awareness of English- educated parents in the area on issues relating to Chinese schools and the community's right to mother-tongue education.

In a related matter, it was reported last Tuesday that tender for the construction of Chee Wen commenced on April 18 and construction of the school may begin as early as next month.

Although initially shrouded in controversy, the school's board and parents have come to an agreement whereby instead of building only one school block, the whole school will be built in stages starting this year.

On the other hand, the USJ 15 vision school which was expected to begin operations this month had its classes rescheduled to June.

Government proposal

It is learnt that some 100 Malay Malaysians, 70 Chinese and nine Indian Malaysian students have registered for the vision school.

However, it is uncertain if the Chinese Malaysian and Indian Malaysian students who have registered so far intend to study in the vernacular branches of the school.

The vision school concept is a government proposal to place schools of different teaching medium — Bahasa, Mandarin and Tamil — each in the same compound to promote racial integration.

However, supporters of Chinese schools have rejected the proposal as an insidious attempt to rob vernacular schools of their independence.