Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said today the assumption by the Chinese that the government had neglected the community in terms of education was unfounded.

He said the government had allocated RM145 million through two economic stimulus packages in 2008 for the development of Chinese national-type schools.

NONE The prime minister ( centre , in white shirt ) was addressing the people at the Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SRJK) (C) in Rasa as part of his walkabout in support of Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate P Kamalanathan in the Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election, polling for which is tomorrow.

Accompanying Najib were MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek, MCA secretary-general and Housing and Local Government Minister Kong Cho Ha, Deputy Education Minister Dr Wee Ka Siong and Deputy Finance Minister Chor Chee Heung.

At the event, Najib, who is also finance minister, approved RM3 million for the construction of new premises to replace the 80-year-old building of SRJK (C) Rasa. SRJK (C) Rasa, located in the heart of Rasa town, has 330 pupils.

New hearse

Najib, accompanied by Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, Chua and Kong, arrived at Rasa at 12.20pm and were greeted by about 2,000 people.

He called at every shophouse and chatted with the people and spent some time to have a cup of tea and roti bakar (toast) at the Keng Lim Restaurant.

Then, he proceeded to Kampung Melayu Rasa, about 300 metres away, and performed afternoon prayers with the villagers at the At-Taufiqiah Surau.

In addressing the gathering, he announced an allocation of RM100,000 to upgrade the house of worship. He also handed over a hearse donated by Bank Rakyat to the Al-Qholodah mosque in Kampung Melayu Rasa.

Kamalanathan is facing Datuk Zaid Ibrahim of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) in the by-election, necessitated by the death of the MP, Datuk Dr Zainal Abidin Ahmad, 71, of PKR, last month.

– Bernama