Parents of students and volunteer teachers of the 'endangered' school SRJK (C) Damansara have requested the education ministry to send teachers to the school as soon as possible and have also asked politicians to step in and save the school.

"We are here as volunteer teachers because we believe the children cannot be just left alone and let to run loose without any teachers," said teacher William Thye, who volunteered on humanitarian grounds.

Thye, a former Federal Institute of Technology lecturer, is a diploma-holder in civil engineering and a contractor by profession. He said that he will teach as long as he is able to but urged the ministry has to send in teachers as soon as possible.

"We cannot make a living by teaching here as we are not paid. We cannot survive on nasi lemak alone," said Thye, referring to donations made by villagers and parents to the volunteer teachers.

At present, there are eight volunteer teachers teaching the 150-odd students.

Police presence

In an apparent protest against moving to another school and to preserve their old school, more than 200 students had registered at SRJK (C) Damansara, Selangor on Wednesday last week, defying instructions by the school authorities to register at SRJK (C) Phui Choy (2) school in Damansara Utama.

This morning, chairman of the Action Committee to Preserve the Old School Ronnie Liu opened the gates to the school after getting the keys from the police. It is not known why the police are keeping the keys to the school.

A small group of policemen, who were present, were heard commenting among themselves, "What have we got to do with the education department? Why are we holding the keys?"

The police, however, only kept watch from afar, with a few special branch officers mingling among the 60 parents and villagers who were gathered outside the school.

Another teacher, who asked to be identified only as Chan, said that he volunteered his services as he felt the children's education was very important.

An economics graduate from Warwick University and a financial consultant by profession, Chan said the government was not handling the situation properly.

On Friday, deputy education minister Hon Choon Kim had said that students who stayed put in the old school and refused to move to the new school will be considered as having played truant.

"We do not know who is behind this whole thing. This school, in actual fact, has no alternative. The new school in Tropicana has no land gazetted yet," said Chan.

"A few Tamil schools have also been in the same situation. Despite the fact that they were promised new schools, the land that was gazetted for them are now just football fields. We do not want this school to end up in that situation.

"It is time the politicians stepped in as this concerns the society. Politics is about society. Why are the politicians in politics if they are not concerned about society?" said Chan.

Nine shave bald

Yesterday, an MCA branch in Puchong expressed full support for the Damansara New Village community and asked MCA president Ling Liong Sik to intervene.

Parents of students, when met outside the school, said that they will not give up the old school easily.

Yesterday, the villagers and parents appointed nine people who have vowed to struggle for the school till the issue is resolved. The nine men were at the school today and all had shaved bald as a symbol of their commitment.

Liew said that some of the students had stayed home today as several villagers and parents had received threatening phone calls ordering them to give up trying to save the school.

The struggle to save the school seems to be gathering momentum. The Keadilan women's wing today visited the parents outside the school, promising support.