(Petaling Jaya,Saturday ): Two days ago, the Sarawak Industrial Development Minister, Datuk Abang Haji Johari Tun Openg, said that some rural schools in Sarawak are keeping their computers donated by the government in store-rooms because there is neither power supply nor qualified teachers to conduct the computer lessons.
He said it would be a waste of money to give computers to schools which did not use them. There were also reports that computers were damaged due to poor storage.
All MPs, from all political parties, and especially those from Sarawak and Sabah, should speak out loud and clear in Parliament to demand that all the 1,273 schools without power should be provided with electricity by the year 2,000.
It is a crying shame that while other countries are aiming to connect all their schools to the Internet by the year 2,000, Malaysia cannot ensure that all schools in the country would be provided with electricity by the year 2,000.
It is a national scandal that three years before the new millennium and at a time when Malaysia is promoting the Multimedia Super Corridor in the world arena to attract companies with cutting-edge technologies to come to Malaysia, and transform the country into an international Information Technology (IT) hub, there are 1,273 schools without power, comprising 833 schools totally without power supply and 440 schools with limited power supply.
Sarawak is the worst state with 537 schools totally without power supply and 95 schools with limited power supply, followed by Sabah with 244 schools totally without power supply and 251 schools with limited power supply.
MPs from all political parties should take a united common stand on this issue, by demanding that the Cabinet provide a special allocation so that the Education Ministry could launch a Schools Electrification Programme 2000 to provide steady power supply to all the 1,273 schools currently without electricity or with only limited power supply.
(29/3/97)