Funding education is govt's responsibility, Tuan Ibrahim tells Anwar

PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man has urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to reconsider his proposal to make the wealthy pay for their children to attend government schools.

He said funding for education should be considered a responsibility by the government and not a burden, and many other countries also see it as an investment in their countries’ future.

“I don’t mean to side with the rich and sideline efforts to help the poor, because both are citizens who should be supported by the government.

“However, the government’s plans to impose hefty education fees on the children of the wealthy on grounds that they have a higher income should be carefully considered. It is public knowledge that the higher a person’s income, the more zakat (tithes) and taxes are imposed on them,” he said in a statement today.

Tuan Ibrahim (above) urged the government to come up with more creative ways to ensure access to education is free or affordable.

For example, he said the government could consider the waqaf (charitable endowment) system used by Al-Azhar University in Egypt to provide scholarships and other assistance for financially disadvantaged students.

Loss of skilled workforce

The Kubang Kerian MP also pointed to more pressing problems in the education sector that should be addressed by the government, namely the increasing number of SPM graduates who are forgoing further education at universities and instead working in factories or the gig economy.

“This situation could put the country at risk of losing its skilled workforce in the future.

“Thus, the government should continue to encourage and support outstanding students regardless of their financial background,” he said.

On Monday, Anwar said the government is examining the distribution of education subsidies to the people.

Anwar, who is also the finance minister, explained that the elite and wealthy currently benefit from subsidies in the education sector.

“As far as I understand, there are children of the rich who enjoy education facilities funded by the government, compared to children of the poor.

“What should we do? This form of leakage, including the children of those from the wealthiest groups going to secondary schools aided and highly subsidised by the government, should be stopped,” he said.

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