Human rights watchdog Suaram today said the government's reluctance to reopen the controversial SJK (C) Damansara was a violation of the child and educational rights.

Suaram campaign coordinator Yap Swee Seng said Malaysia had ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and in which article 28 of the convention obligates the government to ensure the educational welfare of children.

"Malaysia has ratified the child rights convention, therefore the government is obligated to implement its commitments to the international law", he said.

Yap was speaking at a dialogue with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) organised by the SOS Damansara committee at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall in Kuala Lumpur this morning.

He suggested that SOS raises the issue with the United Nations high commissioner for human rights because if it is raised, the government will be held answerable to the UN if found to have violated the convention.

Difficult to register

On the issue of child and educational rights, SOS publicity chief Chong Pai Chee said that previous experience in registering their students in the temporary school for UPSR was an example of their educational rights being violated.

Forty-five students who refused relocation to the new school in Tropicana currently attend classes conducted in converted container boxes located at a temple near the school.

Chong said that the students, teachers and parents had to face many hardships to register the students because they were given the runaround by state educational department and the educational ministry.

"In 2002, it took us five months (Jan-May) before we managed to get the children registered", she said.

In a related matter, Suaram Training and Human Rights Support Coordinator S Arutchelvan said the arrest of the three SOS supporters on new year's eve in Kuala Lumpur were questionable, based on the report that the trio were asked to make a 112 statement.

He said that the 112 statement was meant for witnesses, not the person being charged.

He added that even if the police suspected that the material distributed by SOS that night were in violation of the Printing Press and Publications Act as reported by the New Straits Times , the police could have just taken the material for analysis without any arrest.

"Surely, especially on the eve of the new year, (the action of the police) is not good semangat (spirit) for 2004", he said drawing laughter from the audience.

Day 1,103 of closure

Speaking at the dialogue, Chang Lih Kang representing the Malaysian Youth and Student Democratic Movement suggested that the time is ripe for groups fighting for community rights to make a combined effort in highlighting their plight to the authorities as the next general election draws near.

Today marks Day 1,103 of the closure of the school in 2001. It has been neglected while the temporary school has been running in its fourth year.

The current SOS campaign was fueled by an incident on Dec 12 when five lorries were stopped from dumping 250 boxes of documents in the old school compound. Fears abound as to whether the authorities were attempting to turn the school into a warehouse.