by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lint Kit Siang, in Petaling Java on Saturday. 24th July 1993:
DAP calls on the entire Chinese community to express their concern at the continued unjust treatment of Chinese primary schools as shown by government. refusal to build Kuo Kuang (2S Chinese Primary School or new Tainan Ungku Aminah Chinese primary school although Kuo Kuang Chinese primary school has become the largest, primary school in South East Asia with 4,513 pupils
DAP calls on the entire Chinese community to express their concern to the Barisan Nasional Government at the continued injustice to Chinese primary schools as shown by its refusal to build Kuo Kuang {2} Chinese Primary School or a new Taman Ungku Tun Aminah Chinese primary school although Kuo Kuang Chinese primary school has become the largest primary school in Malaysia and probably also in South East Asia with 4,513 pupils.
During the current meeting of Parliament, I had asked the Education Minister, Datuk Dr. Sulaiman Baud whether the Education Ministry has any plans to build a primary school for the Taman Ungku Tun Aminah and the surrounding housing estates in Johore Bahru, whether Kuo Kuang (2) Chinese primary school or a new Taman Ungku Tun Aminah Chinese primary school, in view of the fact that the existing Kuo Kuang Chinese primary school has nearly 5,000 pupils.
Datuk Dr. Sulaiman’s reply was that, the Government has no plan to build either Kuo Kuang (2) Chinese primary school as it is an assisted school or to build a new Taman Ungku Tun Aminah Chinese pridmary school.
What, the Education Ministry had planned however is to give priority to the building of another national primary school as the existing Taman Ungku Tun Aminah national primary school already has more than 2,000 pupils.
This is a most, shocking reply and shows the injustice and discrimination suffered by Chinese primary schools under the Barisan Na s iona1 Government.
How can the Barisan Nasional Government justify giving priority to build another primary school in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah on the ground that the existing national primary school has more than 2,000 pupils, while it shows no concern or interest in building another Chinese primary school when the existing primary school in the same area has the highest primary school population in the country with 4,512 pupils on 31st January 1993?
This is another failure of the MCA Ministers, and in particular the MCA Deputy Education Minister, Dr. Fong Chan Onn, in Government and Cabinet for the MCA leaders cannot be unaware that Kuo Kuang Chinese primary schools is the biggest primary school in Malaysia – and most probably in the whole of South East Asia – and there is urgent need for the Education Ministry to build another one or even two Chinese primary school for the area.
At present, Kuo Kuang Chinese primary school is serving Tainan Ungku Tun Aminah and several other neighbouring housing estates with a population exceeding 100,000.
DAP calls on the MCA Ministers to raise the issue of the urgent need to build another one or two Chinese primary schools in Tainan Ungku Tun Aminah in next week’s Cabinet, meeting.
I will visit Tainan Ungku Tun Aminah in Johore Bahru tomorrow to discuss with the leaders of DAP Taman Ungku Tun Aminah Branch and other Johore Bahru DAP leaders on the strategy to be adopted to get the Government to respect the demand of the 100,000 people in the affected areas for the government to build another one or two Chinese primary schools to cater to the needs of their children.