By Clement Erik Wong & Sarah Hafizah Chandra
KOTA SAMARAHAN: The opening of SK Merdang here is a dream come true for teachers, students and parents.
Kota Samarahan MP Rubiah Wang said the school was a step forward in providing comfort for students and teachers, especially those who were previously from SK St Martin, situated nearby.
She said the key reason for the building of the school was to resolve a number of issues faced by SK St Martin.
“The issue started in 2008, when the old SK St Martin school site was disputed by the owner. Due to this factor, the school (and its members) was temporarily housed at SK Jalan Muara Tuang in 2009.
“We understand the constraints when a school accommodates ‘two schools’ at once where many issues arise not only for SK St Martin but also for SK Jalan Muara Tuang,” she told the press after visiting SK Merdang here on Monday (Sept 7).
Rubiah said some of the more challenging difficulties faced by SK St Martin was that it had to be relocated multiple times — from SK Jalan Muara Tuang to a rented shoplot.
She added that SK St Martin was housed at the shoplot since 2009 until some two weeks ago when it made the move to SK Merdang.
“Today (Sept 7), I can clearly see the relief expressed by the headmaster, teachers and students, who are benefiting from a proper education system (and facilities).
“I think the facilities need to be improved, the Ministry of Education (MOE) and myself will try to follow-up on this issue to provide even more comfortable facilities in the future.”
She also explained that SK St Martin, previously a mission school, changed its name to SK Merdang following its declaration as a government school as agreed by the parents of students.
Elaborating further on security issues, Rubiah said a suggestion had been made to the district education office to ask for the provision of school wardens to ensure the safety of students, especially during peak hours.
“We will try to facilitate this application, because the position of this school is right on the side of the road and its level of safety needs to be monitored and well taken care of.”
