Deputy Chief Minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan has come under fire over the poor condition of a school and facilities for students in his constituency.
KENINGAU: Students in Sabah’s interior region are dicing with death on an almost daily basis in a bid to secure a basic education.
About 20 pupils from Kampung Pulungan, Sepulut and Nabawan, near here, have to wade through fast-flowing Balaron River in order to reach Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Lotong, their primary school.
The reason is simply because the government failed to rebuild a hanging bridge which collapsed in 2000.
Village spokesman, Sanreco Ansusuok, 37, said the situation was causing endless worry to the parents, especially during heavy rains when the water level in the river rises.
“We have reported the problem to the authorities but to date no action has been taken to remedy the situation.
“Very often when the river overflows, we have to help the children cross the river because we are worried of their safety, ” Ansusuok said, adding that on days when the rain is relentless, the children are held back from going to school.
He said there were times when the children missed going to school for up to three days in a week because of the heavy rain and high water level in the river.
“This has caused a lot of disruption to their schooling,” he added.
No repairs despite complaints
Meanwhile, State Reform Party (STAR) Sabah has taken Keningau MP Joseph Pairin Kitingan to task over conditions in schools in the area.
“What is he doing about education in his constituency? Is he even informing the Education Ministry about the shameful condition of schools in Keningau?” asked the party’s state deputy chairman Dr Nicholas Guntohon.
He said Pairin as a Deputy Chief Minister should be able to resolve ‘simple problems’ such as building a bridge across the river for the students and repairing the drainage system in the schools.
Guntobon was referring to SK Pekan Keningau, which is constantly flooded after a downpour.
“I don’t understand why such simple problems like building hanging bridges and repairing a school’s drainage system are so difficult to do when billions are spent elsewhere on mega projects like the unbelievable RM450-million bridge to Bum Bum Island,” he said.
He said SK Pekan Keningau, which is a wooden structure, is in bad shape with leaking roofs despite requests for repairs being sent to the education authorities.”
He added that school was “right under the nose of Pairin” but has not received any assistance.
“This has been going on for so long. Now that Pairin has announced he will be re-contesting the Keningau seat, he should take a walk around Keningau and try to solve the people’s problems before he asks for their votes again,” Guntobon said.
I beseech the government to consider doing something about this issue especially for the students.
ReplyDeleteThe government should assist them so they don't get discouraged going to school.
DeleteKeselamatan harus diutamakan.
DeleteI hope they will have to repair whatever damage is caused in the past and rebuild a solid good bridge for safety reasons.
ReplyDeleteIF not, this would do harm to these children.
DeleteYa, dan mungkin juga akan menghalang kanak-kanak itu ke sekolah.
DeleteThe lives of our children are very important; please do something about this matter.
ReplyDeleteNo repairs despite complaints? That seems cruel.
ReplyDeleteI;m sure there will be improvements after this.
DeleteBetter facilities should be provided for the students.
ReplyDeleteHope there will be improvement soon around the area to avoid any harm to the children.
ReplyDeleteKerajaan harus memberi perhatian kepada hal ini. Perkara ini tidak boleh diabaikan.
ReplyDeleteWe may be unable to foreseen what would happen next to these people around that area.
ReplyDeleteKerajaan patut lakukan sesuatu utk bantu students ini meneruskan persekolahan mereka.
ReplyDeleteHarap hal ini mendapat perhatian sewajarnya.
ReplyDeleteKesian... Kenapalah hal ni lambat ditanggani. huhu
ReplyDeleteSemoga lepas hal ini kena highlight, pihak yang berkenaan akan segera campur tangan.
ReplyDeleteI hope the government will do something about the highlighted issues.
ReplyDeleteWhatever complaints made by the people to the government must be taken immediate action to solve it. It is the government duty to serve the people.
ReplyDeleteaction must be taken to remedy the situation immediately before someone gets hurt.
ReplyDeleteInilah kelemahan kerajaan cuma mengambil tindakan selepas masalah menjadi teruk.
Deletesekolah2 di pedalaman kena diberi perhatian, beri kemudahan kepada anak2 dalam persekolahan mereka.
ReplyDeleteKerajaan harus memberi peruntukan untuk projek membaiki kemudahan dan kelengkapan khas untuk keselamatan.
ReplyDeleteSuasana persekolahan harus diperbaiki agar golongan musa berminat untuk bersekolah.
ReplyDeleteSemoga keadaan dan kondisi sekolah tidak merisikokan mana-mana pihak.
ReplyDeleteKerajaan sentiasa berusaha untuk memenuhi keperluan2 rakyat Sabah dan tempat di seluruh Sabah.
ReplyDeleteKemudahan keperluan sekolah seperti bangunan, alat pembelajaran dan sebagainya perlu diberikan perhatian dikawasan luar bandar.
ReplyDeletemakin ramai la pelajar2 Sabah yang tercirir dari arus pendidikan jika kemudahan infrastruktur seperti yang dituntut penduduk kampung tidak ditangani oleh pihak yang berkenaan..
ReplyDeletekalau tidak silap diawal tahun ini kerajaan ada mengumumkan peruntukkan untuk membina dan membaikpulih jambatan gantung di semua kampung.. saya harap ia benar2 dapat dilaksanakan tanpa perlu mengambil masa yang lama..
ReplyDelete