School land issue resolved at last

The Star

10-05-2025

For a good cause: Dr Wee (front row, centre), Tebrau MCA division chief Ng Yew Aik (second from left), Wanita MCA chief Datuk Wong You Fong (far left) and other party leaders sounding the gong during the fundraising dinner organised by the Tebrau MCA division in Johor Baru. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
Dr Wee praises Johor govt's efforts in ironing out seven-year delay
JOHOR BARU: After about seven years of delay, the issue of land for the proposed SJKC Kuek Ho Yao here has been resolved with help from the Johor government, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
The MCA president said the groundbreaking ceremony of the school was held in March 2018 in the presence of then education minister Dr Maszlee Malik, who gave his assurance that the project would go on.
However, the project had been put on hold since then due to various reasons, including land issues.
'Thanks to the constant efforts of the two Johor exco members Ling Tian Soon and Lee Ting Han in following up on the matter, the state government has decided to hand over the piece of land to the Federal Lands Commissioner (PTP), with the specific instruction that it is for the school's use.
'The approval by Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi has helped to resolve the technical issues regarding the land of the proposed school,' he told reporters after attending a fundraising dinner organised by the Tebrau MCA division here on Friday.
Ling is Yong Peng assemblyman as well as Johor health and environment committee chairman while Lee, who is Paloh assemblyman, is also investment, trade, consumer affairs and human resources committee chairman.
Dr Wee, who is Ayer Hitam MP, said over the years, about RM12mil in contributions have been collected for the development of SJKC Kuek Ho Yao, proposed to be built in Taman Seri Austin here.
'I would like to thank the state government and Onn Hafiz for helping to iron out the land issues,' he added.
Ling said issues involving land matters were approved in a state executive council meeting last month.
'With support from the Mentri Besar, the piece of land has been specifically marked for SJKC Kuek Ho Yao and handed over to the PTP.
'The Mentri Besar has always been open to assisting matters related to the Chinese and Indian communities, especially when it comes to education, culture and religion,' he added.
Dr Wee also said the proposed development of SJKC Sim Mow Yu in Pasir Gudang, which was also put on hold in 2018, needs to be expedited.
The project was held back as it was said to be too close to the existing SJKC Ladang Grisek, which was originally relocated from Tangkak.
Dr Wee said SJKC Ladang Grisek now has over 700 students and a long waiting list for enrolment, which means there is a need for another school owing to rapid development in the area.
He urged the Education Min­istry to work together with the relevant parties to find a formula to resolve the matter.
'Preparations should also be done for the much-awaited Chin­ese primary school SJKC Tun HS Lee, proposed for Ulu Tiram as the existing SJKC Tiram is also full with a long waiting list for enrolment.
'I remember years ago, parents even had to queue up in the wee hours of the morning for a chance to enrol their children in the school,' he added.
It was reported that in 2017, the government approved the construction of 10 new Chinese primary schools in Johor and Sela­ngor, including SJKC Kuek Ho Yao in Johor Baru; SJKC Sim Mow Yu in Pasir Gudang; SJKC Tun HS Lee in Bandar Cemerlang, Ulu Tiram; SJKC Tan Kah Kee in Iskandar Puteri; and SJKC Cheah Fah in Sunway Iskandar.