SHARING IDEAS: Muhyiddin (centre) talking with Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan (left) and Peter Ong, Singapore’s Public Service chief after attending the Joint Seminar Programme and Games for Malaysia and Singapore Public Sector Leaders 2011 at National Civil Administration Institute (Intan) in Kuala Lumpur. — Bernama photo
KUALA LUMPUR: The government needs to evaluate its financial capability when considering the proposed school equipment subsidy for poor students, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
“The proposal is good but as a responsible government, we need to assess whether the government has the financial capability or not to implement it,” he told reporters after delivering a keynote address at the Joint Seminar Programme and Games for Malaysia and Singapore Public Sector Leaders 2011 here yesterday.
However, it is up to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, being the Finance Minister, on whether the proposal could be introduced to the students who number five to six million.
Muhyiddin who is also Education Minister said should the proposal be accepted, the subsidy may be given as a ‘one off’, especially before school session starts.
MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong suggested that the government allocate RM100 subsidy to each poor student to support their shool equipment expenditure.
In his policy speech at MCA Youth general assembly, Wee who is also Deputy Education Minister said the aid should be distributed to eligible primary and secondary school students.
Muhyiddin also said the budget discussion recently made various recommendations to alleviate the people’s burden and believed Najib would find the best solution.
Earlier, in his speech titled “Malaysia-Singapore: The Way Forward”, he said good leadership holds the key to good public governance.
Thus, it was important to identify the best people who could promote the institutional adaptation in the public interest.
“These people or leaders must be the ones who really understand the culture of transparency, accountability, public service ethics and spiritedness,” he added. — Bernama