The closure of the Mara Junior Science College (MRSM) in Besut and Dungun is politically motivated and meant to punish the people in Terengganu for voting PAS to power, Kuala Terengganu PAS member of Parliament, Dr Syed Azman Syed Ahmad, alleged today.

He claimed that the closure had nothing to do with the present operational system nor the 70 percent allocation intake to local students as claimed by Entrepreneur Development Minister Mohamed Nazri Aziz in Parliament recently.

He said the intake quota was decided in a 1993 agreement between the state foundation, Yayasan Terengganu, and Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara), the parent foundation to MRSM, and had posed no problem until recently.

The two colleges have about 300 students. A bone of contention between the state and federal governments is the alleged refusal of the state to allow Terengganu students be relocated in MRSM colleges situated elsewhere in the country.

"When they [federal government] first told the state government that they wanted to close the schools, the only reason given was the lack of facilities. So, the state promised to provide more facilities like air-conditioning and more computers.

"Then they raised the issue of interaction. Although we defended the quota [70 percent reserved for Terengganu residents], we had told Mara that we did not mind if the students are sent to study at MRSM outside the states," said Syed Azman.