SIBU: Citizen Middle School’s hostel reconstruction project is set to begin after it received a substantial donation of RM500,000 from the Lee Foundation, Singapore’s largest charitable organisation.
.According to Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Dudong Chairman Wong Ching Yong, it is the first time an independent Chinese school had received such a big donation from a private charitable organisation.
He said this at a press conference about the donation at the SUPP Dudong Service Centre here today (Oct 28).
Wong said after the school hostel was destroyed in a fire in October 2020, he launched a “One Person, One Ringgit” fundraising campaign and sought allocations through various channels to reconstruct the hostel.
After that he said he raised the issue with the management team of news magazine Chinese Weekly.
“They immediately suggested applying to Lee Foundation for financial assistance and that they will strongly support the application of Citizen Middle School which was submitted to the Lee Foundation on July 31, 2023.
“Lee Foundation approved RM500,000 to the school on Oct 19,” he added.
Meanwhile, Wong expressed disappointment that Lanang MP Alice Lau had failed to contribute to the hostel rebuilding.
“As the elected representative, Lau, who is also the Deputy Speaker of parliament, should have more funds and avenues to apply for assistance that Citizen Middle School urgently needs.
“Lau has an annual allocation of RM2 million for Minor Rural Project (MRP) grants and another RM2 million for Rural Transformation Programme (RTP) grant that can be applied within her constituency,” he said.
