SMK Tarat in Serian to finally get new hall after two-year delay
SERIAN: SMK Tarat here will soon have a new hall after a twoyear delay since the RM350,000 project was approved under the state Rural Transformation Project (RTP).
Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development Sarawak Dato Sri Roland Sagah Wee Inn said the two-year delay was not caused by the Ministry of Education (MoE) – rather it was due to certain requirements from other agencies at federal level.
He added that the project was expedited following a meeting with federal Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek last month, where the latter announced that her ministry had delegated some powers to the state Education Department to approve some school projects.
“This has become part of our MA63 (Malaysia Agreement 1963) negotiations, and I’m glad to say that during my third meeting with Fadhlina on Feb 22, she brought the good news that MoE has delegated some powers to the state Education Department director.
“Suffice to say, for RTP projects, the director can give the go-ahead this time,” he said when speaking at a meeting with the school here yesterday.
Sagah said the state government would continue to pursue education autonomy, including amendments to the Education Act 1996 and the Malaysian Constitution.
“This project will kick off today (March 23), and I hope the appointed contractor can be ready for it. I also want to see it done for the children in this school,” he added.
When met by reporters after the earth-breaking ceremony, Sagah said the project should reach completion within six months after groundbreaking, while expressing hope for the works to finish earlier than the deadline.
“The contractors have been given six months by JKR (Public Works Department) Sarawak to complete the project, which I think is very reasonable.
“If it is done diligently without any problem occurring, the project can be completed earlier than that,” he added.