Perak Health, Consumer Affairs, Civil Community, National Integration and Human Resources Committee chairman A Sivanesan said he feared for the health of the 60 students and 10 teachers at Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (T) Kampung Columbia, Ayer Tawar in Manjung.

An inspection by the state Health Department on July 5 found the school was a breeding ground for rats.

Sivanesan said based on the report he received, the department had found rat bite marks, traces of rat faeces and urine smell around the school area as well as 10 rat holes in the storeroom, pantry and computer classes.

“The location of the building is not suitable for a school as the area is surrounded by oil palm trees and shrubbery which provide an ideal breeding ground for rats.

“It is feared that the number of rats will continue to increase, as such the school needs to be moved to a more suitable place as soon as possible,” he said at the Perak Darul Ridzuan Building here today.

Sivanesan hoped Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik would look into the problem as the school had been battling the rat infestation for the past 10 years.

On another note, Sivanesan said dengue cases in the state dropped by 63.3% or 1,321 cases from Jan 1 to June 2, compared to 3,598 cases for the same period last year.

He said that during the period, a total of three dengue deaths were reported compared to six deaths for the same period last year.

According to him, three localities detected as active dengue areas in the state were Kampung Merawan Indah, Ipoh with 15 cases, Changkat Keruing, Manjung recorded 10 cases and Jalan Putra in Teluk Intan recorded seven cases.