Tamil school issue dogs Xavier
A PIBG chairman accuses the state exco of abusing power by instructing the transfer of state grants to a private firm.
B Nantha Kumar, FMT
A document has emerged to show that Selangor executive councillor Dr Xavier Jeyakumar last month instructed the transfer of funds from Tamil schools to a private firm in Puchong.
The chairman of a parent-teacher association (PIBG) sent an email to FMT that had as an attachment a copy of a letter telling PIBGs to transfer to the company the state grants they had received for building science laboratories. The letter, dated March 15, bore Jeyakumar’s signature.
The email sender, who requested anonymity, claimed this was an abuse of power.
Earlier last month, 84 Tamil schools in Selangor received infrastructure grants from the state with the total value of RM2.67 million. The funds ranged from RM10,000 to RM85,000 per school depending on need. Twenty of the schools each received RM50,000 earmarked for science labs.
According to the March 15 letter, Jeyakumar instructed the PIBGs to sign a memorandum of understanding with a company from Puchong on the transfer of funds to the company.
“What is the basis for this order?” asked FMT’s email correspondent. “Why should we in the PIBG pay some private company? Has the state government given the exco so much power that he can direct us to transfer state funds to a private company?”
He contended that Jeyakumar had no right to choose the contractor on behalf of the schools.
He criticised the state government for its “cheap publicity stunt” of handing over the grants in the glare of press cameras and “taking them away as soon as the crowd disappeared”.
