New Chinese schools: We've shown it can be done, says Wee

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Wee Ka Siong said Putrajaya has broken the widespread belief that the number of Chinese schools cannot be increased.

At a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today, Wee said Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had previously discussed the matter with MCA and Gerakan, after MCA had appealed to the prime minister last year.

Following this, he said MCA had engaged the necessary stakeholders, including Chinese education groups, over a period of 11 months, in order to secure the necessary paperwork.

As a result of the work done, the education department accepted every proposal, resulting in the green light for 10 new Chinese primary schools and the relocation of six schools with low enrolment.

On why the 10 new schools will be located in Selangor and Johor, Wee explained that the government was planning for the future.

"A lot of Chinese are moving to these areas. We took into future development into consideration," said Wee, according to e-Nanyang.

Wee added that this achievement was a record of sorts because the number of new schools that have been announced outnumbers the number of schools that will be relocated.

He said that the next step was to set up committees that will oversee the establishment or relocation of the schools.

He also hoped that non-BN controlled states would cooperate in providing land for the schools. - Mkini