Thanenthiran (front row, right) and his team studying a map of the Nibong Tebal constituency at his operation centre. — LIM BENG TATT/The Star
Barisan candidate wants to improve learning environment in Nibong Tebal
AS A retired teacher, Datuk Seri RS Thanenthiran understands the importance of education.
The Barisan Nasional candidate for the Nibong Tebal parliamentary seat in Penang has vowed to create a better learning environment for students in the area.
“I understand the schools’ needs. The Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs), school management committees (LPSs) and teachers’ clubs need a lot of funds to carry out activities for students.
“If I win, I will ensure that aid can be equally distributed to all the schools in Nibong Tebal to promote excellence and also improve the welfare of the students and teachers,” he said when met at his operation centre in Nibong Tebal.
Thanenthiran, who is the Malaysia Makkal Sakti Party president, was an English teacher at rural Malay schools and fondly known as Cikgu Thanen.
He is up against incumbent Datuk Mansor Othman (Perikatan Nasional), who is the former deputy environment and water minister, lawyer Fadhlina Sidek (Pakatan Harapan) and Goh Kheng Huat (Independent) for the Nibong Tebal seat.
Thanenthiran also wants to give special allocations to pre-schools.
“Schools want to progress but they lack funds.
“Although school fees are minimal, students still need to buy learning materials and this is a burden to B40 families,” he said.
Another of his dreams is to transform Nibong Tebal into an engineering hub to boost domestic tourism, transport and infrastructure.
“The Universiti Sains Malaysia engineering campus is already located here.
“We can produce opportunities in the various engineering disciplines. By doing so, we can retain our local talents and do not have to outsource engineers,” he said.
If elected, the first issue that Thanenthiran wants to address is the long-lasting water shortage in Mukim 5 in Seberang Prai.
“There are more than 35,000 residents in the area but the water supply is only sufficient for 1,000 people.
“It seems that factories have priority when it comes to water supply. We have to take proactive action to take care of the livelihood of residents here,” he said.
