PETALING JAYA, Jan 3 — A morning downpour failed to dampen the spirits of parents gathered for orientation day at the SJK(C) Chung Hwa Damansara here this morning where renovation work is still going on.
Eight years after its closure, igniting furious protests and becoming a symbol in the Chinese education cause, it is finally reopening its doors.
Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lau Weng San, who donated 160 books to the school library, pointed out that the hall was incomplete and the school was "cut off from the world" because phone lines were not yet installed.
While the DAP man would like to see MCA leaders and the Education Ministry taken to task over this, parents of the 74 children who attended the orientation shrugged off the shortcomings.
They peered through doors and windows as their children, the first in eight years to sit in these classrooms, displayed everything from regular first-day blues to cheeky smiles as they fidgeted with new uniforms.
"If you do not want to study, then we go home now," one grandfather fumed as his grandson refused to enter a classroom.
On the other end of the spectrum, a son of a nearby florist had to drag Whoopi, his pet dog, out of his classroom after his best friend had followed him all the way from home.
Across the board, parents were unfazed that the science lab was still empty, or that a dead tree still threatened to fall at any time.
Even a Korean expatriate is sending his three children to the school.
"I want a Chinese school so that my children can learn Mandarin, English and also Malay," said Kim Hee Tae, the CEO of a construction company.
The children line up to enter their classroom under the watchful eyes of their elders.
Like Kim, Australian Stefan Gigacz selected this school for his daughter Kiara because of the good student-to-teacher ratio.
"I want a Chinese school but not the strict and disciplinary culture. I sent Kiara to the school when it was still in the temple because it would be more personal.
Gigacz, who is married to a Chinese Malaysian, said that Kiara was two years behind on her Mandarin because she was only taking weekend classes when the family was living in France.
"But when she started at the temple two years ago the teachers got her up to speed with the rest of her Standard Five peers today," he said.
Then known as SJK (C) Damansara, it was closed down at the beginning of the 2001 school year as the government decided to move the school to Tropicana.
However, residents of Kampung Baru Damansara decided to keep the school going at a nearby temple as they lobbied for the reopening of the school which they insisted is the right of the Chinese community in the area.
Another parent, who only wanted to be known as Lee, said his two daughters had also naturally progressed from the temple school and, like Gigacz, preferred the less regimented style.
Even though this might be a thing of the past as the school is now run by the government, he is still happy with the student-teacher ratio.
Some had more sentimental reasons to send their children here.
The school has reopened just in time for Chen Ashlyn to enrol for Standard One. Her mother studied at the school before it closed down and was determined to see her daughter being part of the alumni.
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