Sarawak wants to manage RM1b allocation for school repairs

Empowering the state to manage the allocation will prevent delays and leakages of funds, says Assistant Minister of Education and Technological Research Annuar Rapaee.

PETALING JAYA: Sarawak wants the power to manage the RM1 billion allocation under Budget 2018 for the state to repair dilapidated schools to ensure the speedy delivery of the projects.

“All processes involving selection of schools, calling for tenders, awarding of contracts, as well as the type of construction methods used should be managed by the state,” Assistant Minister of Education and Technological Research Annuar Rapaee said yesterday.

“Empowering the state to manage the allocation will prevent delays and leakages of funds,” Annuar said.

He said the RM1 billion allocation should be given to the state ministry of education, science and technological research to handle, reported The Borneo Post.

Annuar said the federal government should take heed to prevent sticky situations such as that of SK Pulau Seduku in Sri Aman, where the main contractor from the peninsula had sub-contracted the works to several contractors.

He said the project was delayed and this created uneasiness among the parents there.

“To have better quality of buildings, the fund should be given solely to the state to manage and not at federal level,” The Borneo Post quoted Annuar as saying.

Meanwhile, Minister of Education, Science and Technological Research Michael Manyin said the RM1 billion allocation from the federal government, meant for two years, is far from enough to replace the critically dilapidated schools in Sarawak.

Manyin said if Sarawak were to build everything up to the standard, it would probably need about RM4 billion.

He said according to the state Public Works Department to build a new school with laboratories and boarding facility, more than RM20 million would be needed for each school.

“RM1 billion is not much. We need more than that. According to our calculation, we will probably need RM3 billion to RM4 billion based on the 415 critically dilapidated schools across Sarawak,” he told reporters after officiating at the National Dual Training System (SLDN) convocation at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching yesterday.

Manyin said the state would continue to fight for more because the RM1 billion was not enough to repair the 1,020 dilapidated schools in Sarawak, including 415 critically dilapidated ones.

He added that RM1 billion could only build 40 to 50 schools to replace the critically dilapidated schools. -FMT