KUANTAN: Failure to complete the new school building has forced pupils of SJKT Ladang Jeram here to continue attending lessons in container classrooms.
V. Arumugam (BN-Sabai) said the school, located along the Jalan Kuantan bypass, has been deploying containers as classrooms as the construction of the new school building has not taken off.
"There are several classrooms in modified containers and the people refer to the school as 'sekolah container'. In this modern era, I am not sure if schools operating in containers still exist in other areas.
"The issue has been going on for several years despite the new site and funds being approved during former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's administration... the project has been abandoned.
"Issues concerning the container school are often politicised and used to attack the federal and state governments by certain quarters. I urge the Pahang and federal governments to identify a solution to allow the construction work to resume," he said.
Arumugam said this when debating a motion of thanks for the royal address of the Sultan of Pahang, Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, during the opening of the state assembly sitting in Wisma Sri Pahang.
After more than two decades, the new SJKT Ladang Jeram school premises remain incomplete forcing pupils to attend lessons in makeshift classrooms.
Numerous politicians from several parties as well as Education Ministry officers have visited the school over the years but no firm decision has been taken.
The RM14.8 million school project, which was supposed to be completed in August 2016, was extended to November 2018. However, once the clearing works had been completed, the contractor ran into trouble and the project was halted.
Meanwhile, Arumugam proposed that the Pahang government consider distributing Bantuan Prihatin Pahang (BPP) aid to the B40 group within the Indian community for Deepavali this year.
He said the BPP will help the low income families to make the necessary preparations and usher the festive season with joy.
Ketari assemblyman Thomas Su Keong Siong, meanwhile, hopes that the Pahang government and ginger farmers in Bukit Tinggi will come up with a win-win solution over land issues.
"The Pahang government through the Perbadanan Setiausaha Negeri Pahang (PSK) has reserved an area measuring 327ha for the farmers to carry out ginger farming activities in Bukit Tinggi. However, the issue has not been settled till today and I hope it can be sorted out soon.
"I hope PSK will initiate talks with the 197 farm owners who have permits so that they can relocate to the new reserve site to continue farming," he said, adding the area has a total of 231 farm operators.
In 2019, ginger farmers operating along the hilly slopes of the Bukit Tinggi forest reserve here were told to move to a new site that has been identified by the state government.
The state legislative assembly meeting will resume tomorrow.