The decade-long push to relocate the ageing SJK (T) Ladang Labu Division 4 in Labu, Negri Sembilan, has finally borne fruit after a property developer agreed to fund half of its relocation and building costs.
The project to replace the school, which has long been suffering from low enrolment and termite infestation, will cost almost RM9mil.
The school’s board of governors chairman R. Navajeevan, a former pupil, said the current school, built before Malaysia’s independence, lacked facilities and did not have a proper canteen.
“Apart from an enrolment of about 20 pupils now, we have had problems with termites alongside other infrastructure issues, which are not conducive to teaching and learning.
“The pupil population dwindled after estate workers moved out following the estate’s closure some time ago,” he said when met after the signing of a memorandum of collaboration between Matrix Concepts Holdings Bhd and the school board.
Navajeevan added that the school used to have up to 300 pupils in its early days when it served a larger estate population.
He extended his gratitude to Matrix Concepts for financing half of the total costs.
In a press statement, Matrix Concepts said phase one of the new school would be built on a 2.4ha site in the Malaysian Vision Valley (MVV) in Bandar Sri Sendayan, about 1km from its current location.
The new premises will have a four-storey academic block with 12 classrooms, alongside science and computer rooms, a library, pre-school facilities, administrative offices, a multipurpose hall, a canteen, a field and a guardhouse.
Construction for phase one is targeted for completion by October next year.
Matrix Concepts Holdings Bhd co-chief executive officer Tan Sze Chee said the initiative reflected the group’s ongoing commitment towards building sustainable and inclusive communities beyond physical development.
“We are happy to support the relocation of the school from its early beginnings within a small estate community, to a larger and more conducive environment that we hope will continue to grow and thrive in the years ahead,” she said.
Tan said the collaboration was part of a broader effort to ensure that educational and community infrastructure evolved alongside the rapid growth taking place within the MVV corridor.
MVV City is the first integrated township within the MVV corridor, covering 952.8ha.
It is designed as a balanced ecosystem that will bring together 400ha of industrial land, more than 15,000 homes and 69.6ha of commercial space.
State local government development, housing and transport committee chairman J. Arul Kumar, who witnessed the signing ceremony, commended the developer for its community efforts.
“Matrix Concepts has previously contributed to the building of national and vernacular schools in Bandar Sri Sendayan, apart from many other initiatives for the local community.”
Arul Kumar said there was a pressing need for another Tamil vernacular school in Bandar Sri Sendayan and the surrounding areas, following a spike in population.
“Data shows that some 20% of buyers in the Tiara Sendayan project alone, which has some 4,000 houses, are Indians.
“There is also no more place in the two-session SJK (T) Bandar Sri Sendayan, which is the other Tamil school in the area, as it already has some 700 pupils,” he noted.
Also present at the event were Matrix Concepts founder and group executive deputy chairman Datuk Seri Lee Tian Hock, NS Corporation chief executive officer Datuk Norazhar Musa and Seremban Jaya assemblyman Datuk P. Gunasekaren.
