PUTRAJAYA: The Perak government's decision to give 1,000ha of land to nine Chinese independent schools is politically-motivated, Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said yesterday.

He said Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin should be fair to other schools in need of similar aid and not merely be "flooding Chinese schools with sweets".

Nizar recently said the land was given to show appreciation and support for the schools.

He said the land would enable the schools to generate revenue to pay for their operational expenses.

The schools would form a company to work the land and the income will be divided among them.
In addition, Nizar said the schools, including SMK Yuk Choy, would receive RM30,000 each to fund their operations.

"In future, the RM30,000 can also be given to other schools such as religious schools and Tamil schools," he was quoted as saying.

Hishammuddin, who is also the Umno Youth chief, said the Pakatan Rakyat had made a populist move.

"There are so many schools out there in need of land," he said.