SHAH ALAM, 17 Jan: Umno’s hypocrisy of supposedly championing Malay youth education in the Giat Mara Skills Training Centre in Selayang is very annoying.
The Assemblyman for Taman Templer, Zaidy Abdul Talib, said that all this while Umno has never bothered about the training centre being built on an invalid site with the situation of buildings and facilities being lacking.
He said that Umno must first prove their ‘concern’ about the education of Malay youth before barking blames towards the state government.
“So, I would like to ask Umn to stop being a hypocritical champion on issues concerning race and religion, which they have been claiming all this while.
“Instead, prove to all through appropriate action, although I doubt their sincerity and ability,” said Zaidy on his Facebook status which he uploaded yesterday.
Previously, Umno actively criticised the state government, which they claimed to be inconsiderate to a point of willing to evict the Giat Mara Training Centre in a 12 months’ notice.
On 15 January, the Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, explained that the results of the state government Task Force monitoring found that the building is in a poor condition and the training fields provided were not proactive.
However, Abdul Khalid said that the state government will reconsider the decision and is ready to give financial assistance to upgrade the building if Giat Mara cannot afford to.
Elaborating, Zaidy, who is also the Selangor PAS Information Chief, said that he is discussing with the state government to ensure that the training programme can remain for the convenience of the local youth.
“At the same time, I also hope that this effort will receive cooperation from Giat Mara in upgrading the training centre.
“If the area is not suitable, I will personally help in identifying a better place around Selayang,” he said.
Yesterday, Zaidy also visited the training centre and was welcomed by the management and teaching staff on duty.
From the short visit, Zaidy found that the building infrastructure indeed needs to be upgraded for the convenience of students. especially lecture halls housed in two-storey cabins which are lacking, in addition to a very cramped and uncomfortable environment.
He was told that the building was actually converted from an abandoned public hall.
Therefore, he hopes that the Federal Government and Giat Mara will be more concerned by ensuring the welfare and comfort of the students are cared for, enabling them to acquire knowledge and also good training.