KUALA LUMPUR: The Education Ministry has approved a RM650,000 allocation to build a new school for pupils of a flood-prone Tamil school in Puchong.

Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said the building plans for the new two-storey school had already been drawn up by the Public Works Department and would have 12 classrooms.

He was speaking after launching Astro's Attam 100 Vagai 3 dance competition at a hotel here.

The floods at Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Tamil Ladang Bukit Jalil on Sunday was believed to be due to the covering up of a big drain by a contractor nearby.

It was reported that City Hall is building a temporary prison and police station on a site next to the school.

The new school is expected to be ready by March and would be built between half and one kilometre from the current site.

Samy Vellu urged City Hall to investigate the cause of the floods and come down hard on those at fault. 

Samy Vellu, who is also MIC president, said he had instructed Datuk S. Sothi-nathan, a party vice-president, to look into the matter and come up with a report.

"It appears that a workshop operating there has expanded its 'facility' to the point of covering a big drain. 

"This is what's causing the flooding after a downpour," he said. 

Lauding Astro's commitment to provide good content to its viewers, Samy Vellu urged the content provider to come up with more programmes that promoted the proper use of the English language.

"Many of our SPM-qualified students do not speak good English, have poor pronunciation and grammar mistakes are common," he said.