GE13: Najib announces approval for another Foon Yew branch

JOHOR BARU: The Government has approved the setting-up of another branch campus for Foon Yew High School in Sri Alam to cater to the growing need for Chinese education in the state.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who made the announcement, said that Barisan Nasional was a government that served all races.

“I am approving this based on the requests from Johor Baru incumbent MP Tan Sri Shahrir Samad,” he said to thunderous applause during an event in Taman Sentosa here yesterday.

Foon Yew High School, which is over 100 years old, has its main campus in Stulang and another branch campus in Kulaijaya with over 10,000 students.

Najib also urged voters to look at the “big picture” and continue to support Barisan as Johor was a land of promise and so far, only a portion of development has been carried out in Iskandar Malaysia.

“We have more plans for Johor, including having a high-speed train. The country's landscape will change with the prices of land in Johor Baru increasing as this will be a hub,” he said.

Later during a dinner with various non-governmental organisations at the Southern University College, Najib said the Gelang Patah parliamentary seat would be returned to the MCA in the next general election.

“This is just temporary. This is just a five-year TOL (temporary occupational license),” he said.
Najib also said that he agreed to Chinese vernacular school to be built in Iskandar Malaysia.

MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said that Najib's announcement on Foon Yew was definitely good news as it was a symbol of the Chinese community in Johor, with five primary schools and two secondary schools in the state.

Dr Wee was confident that the school board would be able to develop the new campus on a 9.3ha site in Sri Alam similar to its branch campus in Kulaijaya.

Asked whether the announcement will help shore up support from the Chinese community to Barisan in the state, he said: “This announcement is something that the Chinese community here has been waiting for.”

Meanwhile, Foon Yew High School management committee vice-chairman Tong Sing Chuan said the developer in Sri Alam had allocated the land for the school.

He added that they decided to seek approval for the building of the school several months ago and was confident the Chinese community would help fund and develop the new campus.

(Source: The Star Online)