The Save Our School (SOS) committee of Kampung Damansara Baru in Petaling Jaya has sought clarification from the government regarding the attempted dumping of boxes of documents in SRJK (C) Damansara.

The committee today submitted a letter to the Ministry of Education seeking an inquiry into what they perceived to be a ploy to turn the school into a warehouse.

"Last Friday, five lorries attempted to unload boxes into the classrooms. We only realised what had happened after 50 boxes of documents had been left inside a classroom", said committee secretary Tommy Chin.

Chin told malaysiakini that on the day the boxes were delivered, the committee attempted to negotiate with a person whom they believed was the contractor in charge.

"The man said he was following a directive from the state education department but declined to reveal why the boxes were delivered to the school".

When the residents attempted to investigate the boxes that were unloaded, the contractor prevented them from doing so.

However, they noted that the exposed parts of the boxes showed documents with a Selangor emblem on the letterhead.

However, when the committee informed the contractor that the press were on their way to the school, the contractor instructed his men to remove the boxes from the school and the lorries left the compound at 11.45am.

Easily burnt

"This is our school, we do not want to see it be used for any other purposes" said committee member Chong Pei Chee.

"The community was also worried that once the boxes of documents were placed there, the school can easily be burned down and then, we (the residents) would be blamed"

Chong also stressed that the community needed a Chinese primary school in the area badly and that they wanted the government to reopen the school.

Committee president Yong Yoke Sung said the school was the 'fruits' of the community's toil, sweat and contributions, and that it does not belong to the government.

"Even though the government had shut down the school, it has no right to turn it into a warehouse" he said.

The committee also feels that the government should be more sensitive to the needs of the public, in line with the Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's call for better governance.