KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 – Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid today instructed all state education departments to propose electrical rewiring at schools more than 20 years old. This was to ensure that fires did not break out at these schools, he told reporters after visiting Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Samudra, Batu Caves, here where a fire broke out on the fourth floor of a building block yesterday.
The fire affected five classrooms, a furniture store and a book store. Mahdzir said the initial report states that the fire was caused by a short circuit. He said he will taking this matter seriously and have asked the state education departments, through the district education offices, to review the wiring at schools which are already 20 or 30 years old.
“Meanwhile, the ministry would provide an emergency allocation for repair of the damage caused by the fire at the school, estimated to be more than RM500,000. The Public Works Department will come tomorrow to assess the damage and, according to the initial report, it is more than RM500,000,” said Mahdzir.
Meanwhile, he also praised the school for the steps taken during the fire, which resulted in no injury to students or teachers. He said they are thankful there was no loss of life, and they saw bags left behind by the students, meaning the students did not panic and the school took organised action to evacuate the burning building.
