RM20 mil present

The spirit of giving continues.

AAB announced that High School Bukit Mertajam will get a RM20 million development fund. The money will see the school will get a new hostel, teachers’ quarters, a sports pavilion and a laboratory. This amount will come from the 9th Malaysia Plan – meaning it’s rakyat money and not a personal donation. There’s more; another RM3.5 mil will be given for repairs.

But why High School Bukit Mertajam? Cos the man studied there, judging from The Star’s report. Plus it’s 80 years old; you may say it’s a heritage thing.

But RM20 million? Come on, now.

Could the Cabinet really have approved this? Assuming it’s lethargic reporting from the Star, what then might be the full compelling reasons? Of the dozens of heritage-quality schools throughout the country, why does HSBM get the bonus? Are there similar plans afoot for the other deserving schools? What’s the criteria for such awards? Surely not because the man studied there...

But I forget – it’s all under OSA.

Investing in education is great, and I’m all for heritage, but there is such a thing as sensible allocation. In other words, proportionate fit. The allocation ought to fall within a fair spectrum.

And what’s the bottom end of this spectrum? If you recall: Thirty-four Tamil medium schools throughout the country get to share RM489,000. That’s an average of RM14,832 per school.

RM20-frigging-million for one school while so many others survive on pittance smacks of favouritism, which already happens to be a prime issue with AAB’s image. This sure ain't helping it.

Proportion, Abdullah, proportion.

From my own experience, with RM20 million, one gets to develop an 8-acre plot of land with 70 middle-income grade houses complete with roads, sewage and stormwater systems, substation, common facilities, and general landscaping. The price tag includes all fees paid to the various consultants and authority bodies; also the premium for land conversion from agriculture to residential. That’s how it goes in the competitive and open market. But for govt-sponsored schemes, few will ever get to know.

All I know is this – given the dearth of information and reasons – RM20 million for additions to one choice school is outright absurd.