Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian visits school in Rantau Panjang

suppadmin | March 22, 2025

The only school in Batu Kawa, which has long suffered from poor conditions and frequent flooding, will soon be relocated to a new site.

Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian said discussions are ongoing with the Public Works Department (JKR) Malaysia and contractors to expedite the completion of the project.

He said the goal is to allow Primary 6 students a chance to experience the new RM20 million school with 12 classrooms and full amenities for at least the last half of the academic year before they move on to secondary school.

“The journey to relocate the school has been unusually arduous, but we never give up,” he said.

He outlined the timeline of the school’s relocation efforts, which began in 2017-2018 when then-Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak allocated RM10 million to purchase land for the project. However, after the change of the federal government in 2018, no funding was allocated for construction.

In July 2019, Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg approved the new school to be built under the state government’s RM1 billion early loan repayment initiative.

After further delays, the contractor was finally appointed in November 2022. A year later, in September 2023, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, Deputy Minister Lim Hui Ying, and senior officials from the Ministry of Education visited the site to ensure the project was progressing.

Now, in March 2025, Dr sim added that the school is 98% complete, bringing an end to the long wait for a better learning environment for the students of SK Rantau Panjang.