S’gor slams Muhyiddin for politicising dorm issue

Syed Jaymal Zahiid February 6, 2012

Yayasan Selangor hits back at the deputy prime minister for using education as a political tool to wrest the state from Pakatan Rakyat.

KUALA LUMPUR: Yayasan Selangor today lashed out at Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin for “politicising” its plans to demolish its students hostels in Kampung Pandan here.

General manager Ilham Marzuki blasted Muhyiddin’s statement that the Selangor government was “passing the buck” to the education ministry as irresponsible, saying it was actually the duty of the ministry to ensure the students’ welfare be safeguarded.

Muhyiddin is also the education minister. He said yesterday the Pakatan Rakyat administration was relinquishing its responsibilities by making students from the demolished Yayasan Selangor hostels to move to other dorms of schools under the Education Ministry (MoE).

But Ilham argued that the students’ housing issue is the responsibility of the minister and the MoE, adding that Yayasan Selangor was not provided with grants from the federal government but has still managed to operate well with efficient utilisation of its businesses and assets.

“The minister has conveniently forgotten that providing education for the rakyat is primarily the responsibility of the MoE with its annual allocations.

“On the other hand, Yayasan Selangor receives no grants from the government and yet it complements the MoE functions to provide direct assistance to the needy students and supports human capital development,” he said in a statement.

Last Thursday, Yayasan Selangor Hostel Alumni Association president Aina Hanim Mohd Lokman claimed that the state government was suffering from insufficient cashflow.

Aina alleged that Yayasan Selangor had demolished Dr Ismail hostel (ATDI) and the Toh Puan Norashikin hostel (ATPN) so that the land could be used for commercial projects.

Gerakan Saya Anak Yayasan Selangor claimed that Yayasan Selangor did not bother to consult parents over their move.

Desperados

Ilham denied the allegations and said the two hostels were demolished because the area was no longer conducive for students due to rapid development taking place in the vicinity.

But Muhyiddin took him to task over the alleged failure by Yayasan Selangor and the Selangor government to provide alternative housing for the students from the demolished hostels.

The Yayasan Selangor general manager, however, said Muhyiddin was aiming to tarnish Pakatan’s image in a bid to win the state in the coming national polls.

“Education and charity should be a non-political agenda”.

He then accused the DPM of hypocrisy when he allegedly rejected a proposal by Yayasan Selangor to build and fully operate a hostel that could house 1,500 students in 2010.

The Yayasan Selangor general manager pointed out that the MoE could finance missionary schools like Convent Bukit Nanas and St. John’s Institution but not its SPB, suggesting political motivation behind the decision.

“Muhyiddin did not say why he rejected Yayasan Selangor’s offer to build a SBP to house 1,500 Yayasan Selangor students back in 2010?

“Why the fuss on Yayasan Selangor now when PRU13 is just around the corner? Isn’t that the act of desperados who desperately want to wrest Selangor from Pakatan at all cost?”

Ilham said Yayasan Selangor will continue to do its best to safeguard and accommodate the wellbeing of Selangor students regardless of their political background