Sarawak elections: DPM announces RM73.68mil for schools

The government today announced an allocation of RM73.68 million for upgrading works on three types of schools in the state of
Sarawak.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said RM25.68 million were for 130 missionary schools, RM20 million for 197 Chinese type national schools (SJKC) while RM28 million were for 1,266 national schools.

Muhyiddin, who is also the education minister, said as a start RM50,000 would be given to each missionary school in the near future through Barisan Nasional (BN) representatives in the areas concerned.

“The allocation’s initial disbursement is RM6.5 million and the balance will be disbursed in the second round after that,” he told reporters, here. 

There are 197 SJKC in Sarawak of which, 187 are primary schools while the other 10 are secondary schools.

Earlier Muhyiddin, who is also the BN deputy chairman, had attended a briefing on the preparations for the Sarawak state election together with top leaders of the Sarawak BN component parties at the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) headquarters, here.

Meanwhile, when approached by reporters, Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud said: “The prime minister could appreciate the whole picture regarding the conditions of schools in Sarawak, which are numerous and dilapidated.

“I say thank you for this special concern.”

Taib said many of the schools were built by the local councils, and the financial assistance channelled for repair works on the schools was timely because many of them were built using timber.
 

— Bernama