PORT DICKSON, Malaysia: Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk T. Murugiah has expressed shock at the plight of some 120 pupils of a Tamil school in Lukut near here.

Murugiah, who made an unscheduled stop at SJKT Ladang Singai Salak yesterday, was dismayed to see the pupils studying in cramped conditions in two rented, double-storey shoplots.

"This looks like a fire-trap, it certainly doesn't look like a school to me. I will do whatever I can to help them move to a better place," he said.

The school was previously located in Siliau but was moved when its student population dwindled. It was then allowed to squat at SJKT Bandar Springhill for two years.

It was moved to its present location when the student population increased.

Parents, when met outside the school, also expressed hope that the authorities would help to relocate the school.

Murugiah said the school was unable to accept more students as there was no space for expansion. It has been operating from the shoplots for the last two years.

Murugiah said he would consult with Deputy Education Minister Datuk Wee Ka Siong on the possibility of moving the school to a plot reserved for another Tamil school.

It is learnt that the other Tamil school, at the seventh kilometre of Jalan Pantai, was supposed to have moved to the plot but the plan was aborted.

"I will appeal to the Education Ministry to allow this school to be moved there," he said. -The Star/ANN