KUCHING: Chung Hua Middle School (CHMS) No 4 will be relocated to Stutong and the entire process, including construction of new buildings, is expected to take between three and five years.
The school will at present continue to operate from Bangunan Datuk Patinggi Abang Haji Abdillah before the building is returned to the Sarawak government, said Board of Management of CHMS No 1, 3, and 4 chairman Datuk Richard Wee.
“Hence, all things being equal, the actual relocation can only be executed after the completion of the school at the new site,” he told New Sarawak Tribune when contacted.
Wee said the state government has proposed an eight-acre plot near Stutong, of which three acres will be for Sarawak Charitable Trust for commercial development and the remaining five acres designated for the school board to facilitate the relocation.
“The Premier has also agreed that the government will assist the school board in building the new school,” he said.
Wee said the land where CHMS No 4 is situated currently belongs to the Sarawak Chinese Charitable Trust, and the school board has been renting from them since the school started in the early 60s.
“In the past years, our school board has been requesting for assistance from our Premier, when he was the Satok assemblyman, to look for a bigger land in Kuching for its relocation as the current one-acre land has its limitations for any future expansion.
“Additionally, it has contributed to the traffic congestion during school days as it is situated in the centre of the city.
“Over the years, there have been many attempts to find a suitable location and many rounds of meeting with the authorities concerned have been held with the owner of the land.
“It is only recently that the school board finally reached a consensus on the location and size of the land that is suitable for the relocation,” he said.
He said with consensus reached and while details of the administrative arrangements have to be worked out, the school will have the space for its future expansion.
“Furthermore, the Sarawak Charitable Trust Board will have the commercial development to generate future income for its activities. It will be beneficial to the stakeholders and a win-win situation for all parties,” he said.
Last Saturday (Aug 5), Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said the CHMS No 4 School Board had agreed to return ownership of Bangunan Datuk Patinggi Abang Haji Abdillah, which currently accommodates CHMS No 4.
“Now we are in the administrative phase of the process. They will have a new school as the current location is unsuitable for the school. We will develop a new school for them,” adding that Bangunan Datuk Patinggi Abang Haji Abdillah and its surrounding area will be further preserved as a heritage site.
CHMS No 4 has a student population of more than 400 students.
