Some 30 people unhappy with the relocation of a Chinese primary school in Damansara, Selangor, held a peaceful protest today outside the new school grounds as sponsors and the board of governors convened for their annual general meeting.

The group sported T-shirts bearing the words 'Save Our School' and carried placards which read, 'Resolve to support the reopening of the Damansara Chinese Primary School', and 'Everybody has the responsibility to defend Chinese primary schools'.

The 9.30am protest saw the crowd gather on the pavement along the school entrance in Tropicana, Damansara, as board members arrived for the meeting. Some 10 uniformed policemen were present at the scene.

About two hours later, police ordered the group to disperse.

According to 'Save Our School' committee advisor Ronnie Liu, the protest was to make "a personal call to all the sponsors and board of governors to vote for a resolution to reopen the old school".

"The chairman and deputy chairman of the school promised they will fight for our struggle once the new school was completed.

"But they never came back to us and seem to have betrayed our trust by making false promises," Liu said.

After the meeting, school committee chairman Ng Kok See told reporters the meeting was held to update sponsors and the board of the new school's progress since its opening in September this year.

"We discussed the minutes and progress of the students. There was no discussion at all on the old school.

"Of course, the members tried to bring up the matter but we decided this meeting is not the right platform to discuss the issue," he said.

'A traitor'

A number of protestors later approached Ng and shouted at him as he was leaving the premises.

"You were also one of the villagers. We were the ones who elected you. You are a traitor. A running dog," they said.

Liu who described the day as "a very sad one" claimed that an MCA faction within the committee had prevented the raising of the old school issue.

According to Liu, the low turnout of members for the meeting was also unusual.

"Some of the absent members I called said they were not informed of the meeting. This is unusual. Only 30-odd of the 88 members were present today.

"I question the legitimacy of the meeting. They should declare today's meeting null and void, and reconvene it if some members were not informed," Liu told malaysiakini .

Controversial closure

In January, the 70-year-old Chinese school was closed down early this year on orders by the Education Ministry who proposed to relocate it to Tropicana, about half an hour's drive from the original site.

Some 1,300 students were then placed in another Chinese primary school pending the completion of the new school.

The move sparked a volley of protests from the Chinese community who claimed that no clear reasons were given by the government for the closure.

Following that, the 'Save Our School' action committee was set up by concerned parents and educationists to champion for the re-opening of the school.

Some 70-odd students refused to move to the new school and classes were held at a temple nearby, which has been housing several air-conditioned containers serving as temporary classrooms.

The new SJK (C) Damansara in Tropicana was officially opened last month.