RM3m ‘gift’ for Sek Men Chong Hwa

According to the prime minister, students at Sekolah Menengah Chong Hwa will take two examinations – the UEC and the SPM – together.

KUANTAN: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak tonight announced a RM3-million government donation for the building fund of the proposed private Sekolah Menengah Chong Hwa here.

It is an addition to the RM2 million given by the government earlier for the same purpose.
Najib said the establishment of the school was a win-win situation as it was in line with the National Education Policy and fulfilled the request of the Chinese community.

“Let no one have any doubt that at Sekolah Menengah Chong Hwa the students will take two examinations – the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) and the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) – together.

“This means that subjects will be taught fully in Mandarin in the UEC curriculum and the students will also study subjects under the national curriculum,” he said at a dinner and charity show to raise funds for the construction of the school, at the Darul Makmur Stadium, here.

Also present at the event were Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor; Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob and his wife; the Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Chai Xi; Cabinet ministers; the chairman of the school’s board of governors, Pheng Yin Huah; and Hongkong film star Jackie Chan.

The school, which was approved as a private institution on July 26 last year, is the first Chinese private school in Pahang.

On May 20 last year, a gathering was held of 163 Chinese associations and several NGOs to ask the government to approve the establishment of the school in Kuantan.

There are currently 60 Chinese private schools in the country, except Pahang.

Various charity activities were held in several states to raise funds for the building of the school.

The cost of constructing the school is expected to be RM30 million. The school is to be built on 6.07 hectares, about six kilometres from Kuantan, and is expected to be ready in two years.

Earlier, Pheng said construction was going smoothly and the school was expected to open for classes in January 2014, and added that some RM6 million had been raised and tonight the funds were expected to exceed RM10 million.

Najib also announced that RM300,000 raised at the dinner tonight would be donated to the Lahad Datu Heroes Fund for the security forces’ personnel killed in the clash with the Sulu terrorist intruders in Sabah.

The prime minister said the donation to the fund reflected the loyalty of the Chinese community to the country and appreciation for the sacrifices of the security forces.

Jackie Chan also helped to contribute to the fund-raising tonight by auctioning merchandise.

- Bernama