AFTER lying abandoned for 21 years, the site of the former SK Danau Perdana in Taman Danau Desa, Kuala Lumpur, has finally found a new tenant, but not the one residents in the neighbourhood hoped for.
The land has been leased to a private company for three years, leaving residents disappointed that land long earmarked for education will instead be used for commercial purposes.
Taman Desa Residents Association (TDRA) chairman Wong Chan Choy said residents only learned about the lease after one of them spotted a notice erected at the site.
“The school has been abandoned for many years, so we were shocked when we saw a signboard saying the land had been leased to a car dealership. How could this happen?
“Taman Desa is a growing township. We have seen eight new housing developments over the years and the population has grown to more than 70,000.
“Our existing schools are already full, with students from surrounding areas also enrolling here.
“We desperately need another school,” Wong said.
Instead, it spent more than two decades as a magnet for illegal dumping, trespassers, homeless individuals and suspected drug users.
Earlier this year, a fire broke out in the compound, heightening residents’ long-standing concerns over safety and security.
TDRA adviser Datuk William Chan said residents had tolerated the poor state of the site because they believed it would eventually be put to good use.
“We always hoped the land would eventually be used for the benefit of the community.
“The government knew what residents wanted.
“The authorities knew there was strong support for the site to be used as a school.
“That’s why we were so disappointed to learn that it had instead been leased to a private company,” he said.
Seputeh MP Teresa Kok said the school, built in 2003 at a cost of RM14.5mil, was closed just two years later after cracks appeared throughout and the structure began sinking.
She questioned why the Education Ministry had rejected a proposal to relocate SMJK Confucian to the site, only for the land to later be leased to a private company.
Kok has long advocated relocating the 100-year-old school from Kuala Lumpur’s city centre, saying its ageing buildings were termite infested, structurally unsound and could no longer provide a conducive learning environment.
“SMJK Confucian students deserve a more conducive learning environment, which is why we proposed relocating the school to this site.
“The ministry rejected our application, saying the land had to be retained for future educational development.
“If the land was genuinely needed for education, why lease it out? What changed?
“The ministry owes residents and the public a clear explanation.”
Kok said the proposal was backed by 26 residents’ associations and parent-teacher associations within a 5km radius, reflecting the growing need for another secondary school in the area.
“People supported the relocation because they wanted the land to serve its original purpose.
“Instead, it has been leased for commercial use.
“Residents deserve to know why a proposal backed by the community was rejected.”
