On Thursday, two Chinese newspapers, Nanyang Siang Pau and Sin Chew Jit Poh, reported "exclusively" that the new SRJK (C) Damansara school in Tropicana would be completed within eight months with a Finance Ministry allocation of around RM9 million.

After more than a month of "tug-of-war" between the Education Ministry, which had ordered the students to move out of the old premises to another school at the start of the current term, and parents and students who disagreed with the decision, it appeared that one positive development had at last arrived.

Although the authorities say that they have yet to choose a plan for the new school, construction is due to start in two weeks' time and it could be completed as early as eight months or, the latest, by the end of this year.

The new campus will have 36 classrooms to accommodate 3,000 students, who are expected to move in by next year.

The question is, why did the education ministry not inform the disgruntled parents who refused to move to Puay Chai (2) of this plan much earlier? If the school could be completed in eight months, why can't those that do not want to move to Puay Chai (2) stay on in the old school and then move to Tropicana once the school is completed?

How is it that developments under the Eighth Malaysia Plan, which has yet to be passed, be brought forward at such speed in a system that is riddled with bureaucracy?

And why, then, the ultimatum from the Education Ministry that SRJK (C) Damansara students "must move"?

Then again, will the children really be in a "safe environment" and a bigger school when the new school is completed?

Why the hurry?

A new finding brought to malaysiakini's attention is that the proposed 5.5-acre-plot in Tropicana only has 0.6 acre which is "usable" land. The rest comprise a big ravine and safety barriers from a reservoir, high tension wires and roads.

The endangered school is presently on 0.8 acre - bigger than the proposed school's "usable" land area. It defies logic when the reason for the move is that the present school is congested and is unsafe for the children.

And the question looms again: What is the hurry about? What is on the land of the present school that is so "valuable" that all authorities - from the ministers to the ruling parties - are so "desperately eager" to move the children to Puay Chai (2) or, for that matter, to any other school?

One can only gather bits and pieces and put the puzzle together. Yet, the jigsaw puzzle will never be complete for there is only so much that the authorities are willing to say.

"Move for the sake of the children," the education minister said.

"The school is polluted and the majority have moved. The minority should follow the majority," said MCA president Dr Ling Liong Sik.

The opposition is politicising the issue, said various ruling coalition leaders.

Yet, all this does not seem to hold any water for the 67 parents who insist that their children go to the school nearest to their home, which they have built and maintained all through 70 years.

The statements of the authorities and those who support the move to Puay Chai (2) are rebutted with:

"If they truly care for the children, they would not make the children move to Puay Chai (2). They are educators and they should know that the best for the child is the school nearest to their homes. Why the move when there is nothing wrong with the school? If the majority have moved, that does not mean everyone else has to move. What is going to happen to the school? They do not tell us. We want to know. We did not build the school and maintained this for 70 years so that they can flatten it down in one day!" said a parent.

"Yes, the opposition will politicise the issue. It is the people's issue - it is their right to save the school which they themselves built. The authorities are up there because the people put them up there. Thus, they cannot simply direct the people as they wish without taking into account the people's views and wants," said an opposition member.

Dilemma

Despite the Education Ministry having made the final decision on the SRJK (C) Damansara school issue, the 67 parents remain adamant and determined to keep the school running again.

There must be a reason - a very good reason - for 67 parents to be risking the education of 67 of their children - by refusing to go along with the directive of the ministry to relocate.

The Education Ministry, too, having made the final decision, seems to be in a dilemma. Although its minister says that the ministry would not entertain the 67 parents' request to have the school reopened, his deputy seems to have a problem of keeping quiet.

He still issues statements. He has not much of a choice, really, for he is hounded by the parents in and out of the ministry.

The reason must be good enough, for these parents seem to have nothing to lose; all they have is a hope for a brighter future for their children. They do not drive posh cars and they do not have big houses. They do not earn big money and they do not own big businesses.

To an outsider, there seems to be no logic to go through all this trouble just so as to be able to see their children continue studying at a school near to their homes.

However, for an outsider, the question remains: Is there a gold mine on the land of the school that only some people know about?

DAP's Ronnie Liu said a developer had told him that the land alone is worth RM20 million and should there be an upmarket 20-storey condominium built on that plot of land, the market price will easily reach RM360 million!

Now, who needs a 70-year-old school if you can make RM360 million?