By William Isau
SIBU, Feb 25: SUPP Dudong chief Wong Ching Yong, while happy that the SMK Dudong project has been retained in the revised Budget 2023, has also lamented over the lack of funds for Chinese independent schools.
Commenting on the revised Budget 2023 tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday (Feb 24), Wong said he was worried that the SMK Dudong project might be cut due to the change of federal government following the 15th General Election (GE15) last November as it was included in the original Budget 2023 tabled last October.
“There should not be any delay in the proposed construction of SMK Dudong due to the increase in Sibujaya’s population,” he said in a press conference today, adding that he would continue to follow up on the progress of the school.
However, he was unhappy that the federal government did not allocate funds to Chinese independent schools.
He also called on Lanang MP Alice Lau and Sibu MP Oscar Ling of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) to express their stance on funding for Chinese independent schools and recognition of the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC).
He pointed out that the Sarawak government has been allocating funds to Chinese independent schools since 2014 that increases by RM1 million each year, and in 2015, announced the acceptance of applications from Chinese independent school students for public positions, scholarships and study loans from Yayasan Sarawak, and enrolment in higher education institutions established by the Sarawak government.
Therefore, he said that GPS’s position on federal funding for Chinese independent schools is beyond doubt.
‘The Pakatan Harapan coalition repeatedly included the recognition of UEC in their election manifesto, but now they are likely to present the biggest obstacle within the unity government for allocation of funds to Chinese independent schools.” — DayakDaily
