Make schools a part of the community — CM

SERIAN: Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg has urged the people to cultivate the culture of making schools a part of the community, as they are the place where children receive their education.

Abang Johari said parents who are concerned with their children’s education will always be aware of their children’s learning development and work together with the schools by contributing opinions and other forms of contribution that can uplift the performance of the schools.

“At the same time, school authorities must also adopt the community friendly approach so that all the schools’ activities will gain the support and assistance from the community to equally succeed,” Abang Johari said in his speech at the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of a new four-level classroom block for SJK (C) Tapah here yesterday.

His text of speech was read out by Education, Science and Technological Research Minister Dato Sri Michael Manyin Jawong who represented him at the function.

Abang Johari’s call coincided with Manyin’s revelation during the speech that the federal government had introduced a new concept called ‘ My School’, which encourages parents and local communities to “contribute to the local schools”.

“This is the new concept from the federal government - ‘ My School’. I attended a meeting on Monday in Kuala Lumpur. This concept encourages parents and local people to contribute to the schools... Make that school to be your school.”

Without revealing the name of the school, Manyin said only one school in the state had adopted such concept and hoped that more schools would follow suit.

“In the whole of Sarawak, there is only one school (that adopted the concept). So, we hope more schools will introduce this concept.”

Manyin pointed out that this concept was in fact nothing new, especially among the Chinese schools in the country, as they had been practising the concept of being self-reliant all this while.

“It has been there ( for the Chinese schools), because Chinese schools do not wait for allocations from the government... So this is an evidence that the Chinese community does not depend on the government because they know education is their first priority.”

Earlier in his speech, Abang Johari noted that SJK (C) Tapah that was established in 1942 is now 75 years old.

According to a MACC source, the individual concerned, aged 61, is a member of Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Serian branch, Sarawak.

“The individual was arrested by MACC when he turned up to give statements at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya at 12.30pm,” said the source.

On Sept 13, MACC arrested four individuals for allegedly embezzling government funds totalling RM40 million, which should be channelled to a skills corporation for training programmes.

Those arrested were a 58-year-old chief executive with a ‘Datuk’ title, together with a corporate secretary, 34; assistant financial officer, 32; and company director, 38, at several locations in the federal capital in a special MACC operation.

All four individuals were remanded for six days from Sept 14 and were later released on MACC bail. — Bernama