KUALA LUMPUR: A parent has filed a case against SJKC Jalan Davidson for organising computer clasess during school hours and charging parents for it. This is the second such case.
In February this year, 18 parents from SJKC Desa Jaya in Kepong, fed-up with a similar situation, filed a suit against the school principal, and several others, seeking a declaration that such classes are illegal and that it was unlawful to impose a fee.
Following that, now legal firm manager Siew Yen Mee, 35, has make a similar charge. She also claimed that it was unlawful for the SJKC Jalan Davidson to conduct such classes and request for payment as it went against the Education Act 1996. Her two sons, aged seven and 10, are also plaintiffs in the suit.
She filed her suit on Oct 7 at the High Court here naming the school's principal, Pang Chong Leong, the school's Parents-Teachers' Association chairman Dr Lai Boon Hai, and the school's board of governors chairman Yong Ah Pwi as defendents.
Siew, who claimed the defendants had "abused their powers", is also claiming that the government-aided school had no right to ask for a RM300 mandatory School Development Fund, as it was supposed to be a "donation".
"I am not doing this for myself but for other parents who do not know their right or are afraid to stand up to such things because they are concerned about their children's education," said the single mother, who is also a law student.
In her affidavit, Siew said she was "shocked" and "extremely unhappy" after she discovered that the school had "indulged in malpractices" and concocted various excuses in imposing the unlawful charges.
"I was told that I should pay because everyone else was paying the fee. And they kept asking for the amount in a manner that was almost like Ah Longs or debt collectors," Siew told reporters in a press conference yesterday.
She said like other parents, she too had eventually succumbed to the pressure and paid a portion of the school development fund.
Siew said she was asked to pay RM120 per year for the computer classes, monthly contributions of RM8 for the "maintenance of teacher apparatus and computers" as well as a RM300 development fund donation for new students in the school. The SRJKC Jalan Davidson has some 2,000 students.
"I was initially scared to file a lawsuit as I was afraid my children would be victimised but I could not let something that is wrong continue... Nobody is above the law, " said Siew, holding up a copy of the Education Act.
Not legal
Siew's lawyer, Chan Tse Yuen said the law clearly stated that under the provisions of the Education Act 1996 and Education (National Curriculum) Regulations 1997, only core subjects stated in Schedule 1 of the regulations could be included in the timetables of government-aided schools.
Under the provision, all subjects in the approved timetables of government-aided schools are also exempted from any fees.
"Computer classes are not within those 'core subjects'. And since the day of Merdeka until today, its an undeniable, naked fact that no fee should be levied.
"All these fees are 'unreasonable'... its beyond the ambit of the law. The school's officers also used very high handed manner to pressure my client to pay those fees," said Chan, who added that this was an issue of national interest.
On the development fund, Chan said: "How did this amount come about? This RM300 is a figment of the schools imagination. If at all students are to pay a stipulated amount, then it should be synchronized in all such schools in Malaysia."
A team of nine lawyers, headed by Chan, are assisting Siew in the case.
Another lawyer and MCA central delegate Chang Aik Ming said: "This is an example that goes against the 1Malaysia concept.
"People are not put first, the law is not being put first. We support computer classes, but does our government, our schools have the power to go against the laws of the land?
Malaysia Chinese Schools’ Parents Association advisor Ong Koh Hou said the most important thing was that the accounts of all these classes were kept secret and not transparent.
"Why is it not being published? The students paying these so-called fees must know," he said.
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