MP vows to rekindle school issue

A school building has been left abandoned for years, and the authorities pass the buck on who is responsible.

KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor exco and Seputeh MP Teresa Kok has promised to bring up the issue of an abandoned school building SK Danau Desa in Parliament for the second time in recent years.

In 2008, the DAP leader had asked that the school – constructed in 2000 but abandoned in 2003 – be converted into a Chinese primary school as there was a lack of Chinese-language schools in her constituency.

“They (the authorities) gave me a very blur sort of answer. The Education Ministry is suing the contractor, so the situation is tied up in legal work,” said Kok.

However, she did not know who were the contractor or legal counsel involved.

Strangely, no government body had stepped forward to claim responsibility for the abandoned building, which was now a thriving breeding ground for mosquitoes and other pests; and was being used as a rubbish dump.

When both the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and Public Works Department were contacted, they claimed that the issue was under the Education Ministry.

However, representatives from the Education Ministry claimed that the building was not under their jurisdiction.

As a result, the building contractors or the cost of construction could not be ascertained.

Staff of what was formerly SK Danau Desa which was moved to a new building just down the road and renamed Danau Perdana, refused to comment.

Located on Jalan Jalan 1/109 F, Taman Desa, Off Old Klang Road, the building was only used for a few months in 2003 before students were evacuated due to safety concerns.

‘Building was sinking’

“Apparently the building was sinking,” said William Chan, president of the Taman Desa Residents Association.

“I was told it was due to tunnelling work for the SMART tunnel. We asked the government to repair the building and turn it into a Chinese school, but that didn’t materialise.”

Chan said that because of the huge amount of land used, the building should be revamped into a multipurpose hall or perhaps transformed into a large police headquarters.

Joe Lee, who owned a salon directly opposite the school, called the place “an eyesore”.

Whereas, Natasha Karim, who works as a waitress in a restaurant nearby and also lives in the area complained of drug addicts who purportedly camp out in the abandoned building.

“Even (former works minister S) Samy Vellu couldn’t help,” added another resident, Jack Lew.

In 2004, Samy Vellu had commented on the site, promising to get Ikram (the Malaysian Public Works Institute) and PWD to resolve the matter.

He said the building had been handled by a project management consultant appointed by the Finance Ministry. However, no action was taken.