The federal government's delay in approving the permit to construct a Chinese secondary school in Bukit Mertajam smacks of political vengeance as the constituency is a long-time DAP stronghold, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said today.

He urged the Ministry of Education to speed up its approval for the branch school of the long-established SMJK Jit Sin.

NONE Lim ( left ), who is also DAP secretary-general, was speaking at a press conference together with the board of directors of SMJK Jit Sin and developer Asas Dunia Berhad in Penang today.

He said the request for approval of the high-performance school was submitted about 10 years ago.

"If it is still not approved, other measures must be taken to resolve the matter. It is critical that it should be resolved now, or else it may never be approved after the general election," he said.

Lim said he had raised the matter with Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin during the Chinese New Year celebrations in Penang.

Muhyiddin was told that the school was under the government and not an independent institution, he added.

"Muhyiddin did mention that it should not be a problem (to get approval) but nothing has happened after that despite many reminders," Lim lamented.

"At first, the ministry said there was no land to build the school. But now that we have found a developer to donate the land, it says we need to follow procedures."

Lim criticised Prime Minister Najib Razak's 1Malaysia's 'People first, performance now' slogan, saying "now is not performance, now performance is nil".

Offer extended

Asas Dunia and Jit Sin had signed a memorandum of understanding on Jan 18, in which the former had offered eight acres of land for the construction of the branch school to house about 2,000 students.

The school currently has an enrolment of about 3,000 students but due to the rise in population in Bukit Mertajam and surrounding areas, there is a demand for a branch school there.

Asas Dunia has offered the site for two years, pending the MoE granting all the necessary approvals for the school, which is slated to be the first SMJK in Seberang Perai Selatan. Initially the school was expected to be built on or before Dec 31.

But time is running out and Lim was initially concerned that the land may not be available after that.

NONE However, Asas Dunia chairperson Jerry Chan ( right ) has agreed to extend the offer of the land till 2014 as he said there is a dire need for a Chinese secondary school in that area due to increasing development and a growing population.

"When Jit Sin approached us, we agreed to donate eight acres of land with the condition that the school would get a permit to build its branch within two years," Chan said.

"Jit Sin has been the top Chinese school for many years, so we are more than happy to give our support to it and the people of Penang."

Chan urged the federal government and the state to give more emphasis to education as the students will be future leaders of the country.

He added that Asas Dunia has done its part in donating the land although the value had more than doubled over the years.

"Although it is a big sacrifice for us, we have offered it for the good of the community."