Tan Kok Hong @Tanyi

JOHOR BARU: A Chinese school with only one student in Batu Pahat will be relocated to Horizon Hills in Nusajaya next year, said MCA vice-president Tan Kok Hong.

The relocation of SJK (C) Ming Chih would begin next month and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Tan said the first phase of the project would be a canteen and a four-storey building which would have 16 classrooms, a library, computer room and science laboratories.

He said the school would be able to accommodate 1,200 pupils.

He said the sole student of the school was in Year Six this year and they hoped to take a fresh batch of students by 2010.

“The registration for Year One to Year Three students for the school will be held next week at SJK (C) Pei Hwa and SJK (C) Kuo Kuang 2,” he told reporters after the presentation of plans for the school in Horizon Hills Golf and Country Club here yesterday.

Tan added that the 2ha land and the construction cost for the school would be borne by Gamuda Land and UEM Land, which jointly developed Horizon Hills.

Tebrau MCA deputy chairman Senator Khoo Soo Seang said he would apply for tax exemptions for the building so the money could be channelled to improving the school later.

Gelang Patah MP Tan Ah Eng, who was also present, said the new school would support the needs of pupils as the population in Nusajaya was growing rapidly.

Horizon Hills senior marketing manager Jim Woon said they hoped to continue working with the MCA and school authorities to organise charity drives to raise funds for construction of following phases.

JOHOR BARU: An economy task force has been set up to help businesses in the state to pull through the economic downturn.

Johor International Trade and Industry director Khalidah Mohd Darus said the Johor Economy Task Force would also monitor the market situation closely so that proactive strategies could be drawn up.

She said this at a business briefing session for members of the Small and Medium Enter prises Association of South Johor here on Saturday.

Khalidah said the task force would be led by the state Economy Planning Unit and members would include senior officers from the Inter national Trade and Industry Ministry, Malaysian Industrial Development Authority, Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation and Johor State Investment Centre.

She said the task force would update business owners on current developments, government policies, schemes and strategies. She said the task force would also brief Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman weekly on the economic situation in state.

At the event, state International Trade and Industry, Energy, Water, Communications and Environment Committee chairman Tan Kok Hong also talked about his visit to China.

Tan was part of MCA’s high-level delegation that met with top Chinese leaders and officials last month.

He said China was responding positively to the many investment opportunities in Johor.

Among them were the RM1bil project at the Port of Tanjung Pelepas by a petroleum and chemical company, the setting-up of a branch campus by a top Chinese university and a flying school and high-tech park at Senai Airport.

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