M’sians Divided Over Govt's Plan to Build 17-Storey School in KL

In Parliament recently, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) plans to introduce a new school concept featuring buildings between 10 and 17 storey.

Dr Zaliha Mustafa, the Minister of the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories), said the concept was to optimise land in the city centre.

"This concept is widely used in Australia and is conventionally built with fields and buildings, creating schools with two blocks of 10 to 17 storeys, while maintaining vital elements such as education, sports and recreation and making use of rooftop space," she said in the Dewan Rakyat last Tuesday.

Netizens weighed in on the matter

The suggestion by Dr. Zaliha garnered much attention from the public. Several people voiced their opinions with their own suggestions, such as the idea of building high-rise school buildings is unwise, as there are many things to consider safety-wise.

"Great suggestion. Just make sure the school can be access through MRT and public transportation."

One user said, "It's a great idea but instead of building a new one, why not just utilise any condo or apartment units and convert them into schools?"

"17-storey school means on average, there are about 2,000 students. Parents might need to queue from Puchong to Cheras just to pick their kids up from school," commented another.

"I can't imagine the traffic jam for a 17-storey school. Maybe there will be students who go to school in a helicopter."

According to The Sun, Minister Fadhlina Sidek said the concept had been utilized before in building a 10-storey school in Kuala Lumpur.

"We have built multi-storey schools before, with the highest being Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Seri Sentosa, which reaches 10 stories, and there have been no issues. We understand the challenges in the Federal Territory, and this is not a new concept," she shared.