Dudung: Land for Malang City's Sekolah Rakyat Building Still Under Discussion

Malang, East Java (ANTARA) - Presidential Chief of Staff (KSP) General (Ret.) Dudung Abdurachman stated that the construction of a permanent Sekolah Rakyat building in Malang City, East Java, is still being communicated with various parties before realisation. “It can actually be used, but it still belongs to the urban village. I will communicate this with the Public Works Department, the ATR/BPN, and the Ministry of Social Affairs so it can be built soon,” said Dudung after visiting Sekolah Rakyat Menengah Pertama (SRMP) 16 at the Malang City Polytechnic (Poltekom) building on Friday. He conveyed that SRMP 16 Malang City, which uses the Poltekom building located on Jalan Raya Tlogowaru, Kedung Kandang District, is a pioneering school. “I spoke earlier with the Regional Secretary of Malang City. Land acquisition is not easy because it could have implications for BPK audits and so on. It must be concrete, orderly, and follow procedures,” he said. Although SRMP 16 Malang City at Poltekom is still a pioneering school, the condition of the building is considered quite adequate for teaching and learning activities. The government continues to strive to provide maximum support for the existence of Sekolah Rakyat, which has become one of President Prabowo Subianto’s priority programmes. KSP Dudung revealed that the students there have shown positive development thanks to the hard work of all educators who consistently instil character and moral education. “Some have even achieved excellence. The President’s hope is that no child is left out of school and we must dare to eradicate poverty,” he said. Meanwhile, Head of the Social, Women’s Empowerment, Child Protection, Population Control, and Family Planning Agency (Dinsos P3AP2KB) Donny Sandito said the Malang City Government has proposed several candidate land options for the construction of the Sekolah Rakyat building to the Ministry of Public Works (PU). These options include the Poltekom building and land near the Ken Arok Sports Hall, both located in Kedung Kandang District. “The Poltekom site was not approved because the Ministry of Public Works prefers vacant land so construction can start from scratch. We then proposed the land next to the Ken Arok Sports Hall, but it turned out that part of it is designated as city green open space (RTH),” Donny said. The Malang City Government then proposed a third land option located in the Arjowinangun area, Kedung Kandang District. “The existing condition there is a football field, so it is referred to as green open space. This has been coordinated,” he said.