KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 26 (Sin Chew Daily) — The Education Ministry launched a total of 127 new Chinese primary schools and relocation projects between 1999 and 2017, and the construction of 19 new schools had since completed. Another ten were approved in 2017, said Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon.

As for relocation of Chinese primary schools, Dr Mah said 82 of 98 schools had been relocated. The government approved six for relocation in 2017, nine were still under construction and the relocation site of one had been identified, said Dr Mah at the ground-breaking ceremony for SJK(C) Choon Hwa in Pandan.

"We have a total of 1,301 Chinese primary schools nationwide. The 127 schools which are newly built and in the process of relocation make up close to 10%," he said.

The ten schools approved by the government in 2017 are at different phases of construction now, said Dr Mah.

Among them, he said one had completed 85% of construction, two others were in the final phase of application for construction permit, one applied for permit after a name change while another was waiting for approval from the state government.

"We are clear about our target and political consideration should not be used in schools. We shoulder the responsibility to assist every school which has been granted with the permit (to build new school or relocate). We want to ensure the construction of new schools and relocation of schools complete as soon as possible," he said.

Dr Mah also said it was not easy to build a new school or relocate one, adding that the relocation of SJK(C) Choon Hwa to Pandan 13 years.

He thanked those who had assisted in the school's relocation.

"Regardless of where these people are from or their political background, we only have one ideology – to mobilize national education. Chinese primary schools are an integral part of national education," he said.

SJK(C) Choon Hwa was originally located in Hulu Langat. It was classified as a micro school where all 46 pupils in the school were non-Chinese.

SJK(C) Choon Hwa school committee deputy chairman Datuk Liang Guo Wei said the relocation project was jointly announced in 2008 by Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, then education minister, and Tan Sri Ong Tee Keat, then MCA president.

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who was the Deputy Prime Minister cum Finance Minister then, approved RM3 million of funds to build the school in Pandan.

In 2015, then Deputy Education Minister Datuk Chong Sin Woon managed to trace the RM3 million allocation and handed over the fund to the school board.

Chong announced another RM1 million for the school in 2017.

Liang thanked Dr Mah for allocating an additional RM1 million for the construction of the school where the cost has ballooned to RM10 million now.

He said the school committee would be raising fund for the construction of the new school in Pandan.