PETALING JAYA, Mar 23 (Sin Chew Daily) — The United Chinese School Teachers' Association of Malaysia (Jiaozong) said the education ministry had in October 2017 approved the construction of ten new Chinese primary schools in Johor and Selangor, but due to the political situation, the coronavirus pandemic and other factors, the construction plan has been stalled for over three years now.

In a statement, Jiaozong said other than SJK(C) Cheah Fah in Iskandar Puteri, Johor, which will be opened next year, the construction of other SJKCs have yet to start.

"According to deputy education minister Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon in a briefing last December, the construction permit for one of the new schools, namely SJK(C) Tan Kah Kee, was already transferred to SJK(C) Chung Ching 2 in Kuantan in December 2018, meaning there will only be nine instead of ten new schools."

SJK(C) Tun Lim Chong Eu, one of the new SJKCs, was initially planned to be located in Puncak Alam in Selangor, but the location was later changed by the education ministry in 2019 to Alma Bukit Mertajam in Penang.

"Jiaozong urges the education ministry to retain the construction permit for SJK(C) Tan Kah Kee and regularly publish updates of SJKC construction progress in a transparent manner to ensure that approved construction plans could go ahead and be completed smoothly"

According to the statement, education ministry statistics show that there are 1,301 Chinese primary schools in the country at this moment, ten more than in 2010, including seven new SJKCs which were approved prior to 2008 and have since been completed and commissioned.

"Additionally, two branch schools have been elevated to administratively independent new SJKCs, while two micro schools without new student intake stopped operation in 2010 and reopened after their relocation."

Meanwhile, SJK(C) Chiaw Nan in Maurdi, Sarawak, closed down in 2014 due to absence of new students.

The relocation of about 15 other SJKCs has also been approved and completed since 2010. However, as these schools were still included in the ministry's statistics during the relocation process, or reincluded in the ministry's statistics after their completion and reopening, they would not affect the overall statistics and have therefore been excluded from the latest data to avoid confusion.

Among the 1,301 SJKCs in the country now, two have actually stopped operating due to absence of new student intake, namely SJK(C) Bukit Fraser in Selangor (2019) and SJK(C) Poay Chai in Kedah (2015).

"If everything goes smoothly, the relocated SJK(C) Bukit Fraser in Tropicana Aman, Kuala Langat district, Selangor, will start taking students from next year.

"Meanwhile, the construction of SJK(C) Poay Chai relocated from Kedah to Taman Bukit Indah in Iskandar Puteri, Johor, is expected to be completed in 2023."