Kota Kinabalu: The Education Ministry should consider rewarding Mission and Chinese independent schools, in particular, for progressively taking in more bumiputera students in Sabah.
"The racial composition in Sabah is very much different from West Malaysia and thus, the Mission and independent Chinese schools in Sabah that are enrolling many bumiputera students should be rewarded," said State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.
"In fact, I did suggest that such schools after achieving certain enrolment of bumiputera students be considered for financial assistance from the Government.
"After all, these schools are always run by their independent Board of Trustees and benefit everybody irrespective of race, culture and religious beliefs," he said.
Masidi, who is also minister-in-charge of education matters in the State, said this after opening the new three-storey building of SRS Datuk Simon Fung at Kingfisher Park, Thursday.
The new RM3.4 million block of the private primary school was built to replace its 13-year-old wooden block and to cater to the increasing demand of parents wanting to enrol their children in the school.
Previously, the old block could only accommodate up to 450 pupils but now the new block can house 600.
Also present were the school's headmistress Datin Amy-Jean Yee, the school's Board of Trustee Chairman Archbishop of Kota Kinabalu, Rev Datuk John Lee and Chairman of the Building Committee of St Simon Education Complex, John Paujik.
