Checks on school buildings to ensure all wooden structures are safe, says Hon
ALOR STAR: The Education Ministry has directed the management of schools with wooden buildings to consult their local authorities and state education departments at once.
Deputy Minister Datuk Hon Choon Kim said these buildings must be inspected to ensure that they were safe.
Chan:Supposed to have celebrated his 43rd birthday Monday.
“The headmaster and district education officer must inspect such schools and inform the state education department if they find any building to be unsafe,” he said, adding that the affected schools could apply for an allocation for repair work.
Hon said this after visiting SJK (C) Keat Hwa in Jalan Kampung Perak here, where teacher Chan Boon Heng fell to his death when a decayed plywood floor gave way on Sunday.
He also advised school managements not to conduct renovation or extension work without approval from the local authorities.
Hon, who announced a RM50,000 ministry allocation for the school to undertake remedial work, also handed over MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting’s RM5,000 personal donation to Chan’s family.
Chan was to have celebrated his 43rd birthday yesterday.
BIRTHDAY OFFERING: Ooi comforting her children as they stare at their late father’s birthday cake at their house in Alor Star.
The birthday cake that his family had bought for him was instead turned into an offering for his soul, by his wife Ooi Lee Keng, 40, and children Huan Xun, eight, and Huan Wei, four, at their home in Taman Derga Jaya.
In Kuala Lumpur, Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said the Kedah Public Works Department was investigating the incident at the school.
DEADLY HOLE: Hon (right) and MCA secretary-geneal Datuk Ong Ka Chuan visiting the scene of the tragedy.
He said the department would submit a detailed report to him on the cause of the mishap.
“I have asked the PWD to check why the floor collapsed, and on the construction technique used,” he added.
National Union of the Teaching Profession president Ismail Nihat said the loss of life could have been avoided.
“Something like this should not have happened. The school board is ultimately responsible for safety at the school,” he added.
National Union of Tamil Teachers advisor Shahul Hamid Mydin Shah said most national-type schools, being partially aided, did not have enough funds to maintain their buildings.