Reverse outdated ban to visit schools, opposition MP tells education minister
Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh (left) and Education Minister Datuk Radzi Jidin.
SHAH ALAM - Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh has raised concerns over the move to bar opposition MPs from entering schools to check construction work carried out to upgrade schools.
She said part of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition was for PH MPs to receive allocations and grants to carry out repair work and upgrading at schools.
“The question is, how can I ensure that the school upgrading work is completed according to the set standards if I am not allowed to enter to see the existing condition and if the work is completed?
“I am an MP and legally elected by voters and I have the accountability to explain how the allocation I received was spent,” she said in a statement.
She said that the education minister should welcome the presence of opposition MPs to schools to help ease the ministry's burden in ensuring that the infrastructure is done well.
She said the allocations are approved by the Prime Minister's Department but the Education Ministry does not allow opposition MPs to step into the school compound for site visits or attend official functions within their Parliamentary constituency.
“I, who won the election, was legally elected to represent the people there and approved the provision for the school, was asked to stand outside the school gate and no pictures of cheque handing or site visits were allowed,” she said.
The outdated ban should no longer be in force after the MoU was signed, she said.
“I was saddened to see the principals were all scared when I arrived at the school gate to see the repair work that had been completed," she said further urging education minister Datuk Radzi Jidin to reverse the ban.
On June 21, Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh had received a letter from the Pahang Education Department stating that she needs the education director-general's permission to visit schools in Kuantan.
