KOTA KINABALU: In Sabah’s quiet eastern district of Beluran, the children of SK Balaban Jaya begin their school day not in classrooms, but under tents without walls and along the corridors of a mosque.
Their laughter and lessons are carried by the breeze, sometimes interrupted by rain splashing in or the scorching heat in their daily routines.
Parents have voiced their concern and are pleading for quick temporary measures as an interim solution to the problem.
The primary school’s problem was highlighted by Parti Warisan’s Likas assemblyman Tham Yun Fook.
He said the Education Ministry has allocated RM2mil for the construction of a permanent school building but it is unlikely to take off in the immediate future.
The tender and construction process could take months or even a year before completion.
For these children, a year is far too long, he said.
"We cannot allow our children to continue learning in such conditions," Tham, a former senior state educationist who plunged into politics last year, said.
He urged the Education Ministry and the Sabah Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry to act swiftly by providing cabin-type classrooms as a temporary solution.
In urging officials to visit the school to get a first-hand feel of the situation, Tham described it as a heartbreaking sight to see children studying in makeshift shelters, exposed to rain and heat.
He said the appeal for urgent temporary cabin-style classrooms was not just about infrastructure, but about dignity and fairness.
"Tears welled in my eyes seeing our children in such conditions. Imagine if it were your own children. How would you feel?" Tham said in a statement after his recent visit to the school.
Tham questioned why Sabah’s children must endure such deficiency, pointing to the state’s long-standing demand for its rightful 40% share of net tax revenue.
"If Sabah had received its entitlement earlier, this situation would not have happened," he added.
