KUCHING: The Ministry of Utility and Telecommunication (MUT) hopes that the Ministry of Education (MOE) will give cooperation in its effort to provide electricity supply to the schools in the rural areas.
In stating this, its minister Datuk Julaihi Narawi pointed out that schools are under the jurisdiction of the MOE, hence, constructing such facilities in schools needed the approval from the MOE.
“Even though the schools are under the MOE, it is the children of Sarawak attending the schools here so of course we want the best of facilities for them.
“As such, we hope that the MOE will be proactive and give cooperation with us on such matters,” he said.
He said this when met by the media during the MUT’s Hari Raya open house at the Borneo Convention Centre (BCCK) here today.
Following this, he said that it was not impossible for the federal and state governments to cooperate with one another on providing electricity supply.
“The important thing is for them to be proactive. When we supply electricity or water to the off grid areas under Sarawak Alternative Rural Electrification Scheme (SARES) system, they (MOE) need to reciprocate.
“This is because internal wiring and piping in schools need a budget. In that part, they must come in as it costs a lot.
“The state government had done so much already, so they should not depend only on us,” he said.
As such, Julaihi expressed his hope that the MOE would engage with his ministry on the matter in the near future.
“Nevertheless, I believe that such a matter has been extended to the MOE by our State Education Department,” he commented.
