PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today said attention must be given to the welfare of vulnerable groups in this country in line with the concept of the Madani economy.
He pointed out that there were still children from rich families who enjoyed government-funded educational facilities compared to the poor.
"There must be a stop to 'leakages' involving wealthy people abusing education opportunities that should go to students from underprivileged backgrounds.
"As far as I understand, senior civil servants, political leaders, and leading entrepreneurs are among those who are sending their children to the best schools funded by the government. This is unreasonable and unfair," he said.
He said this at the opening of the National Symposium: Eradicating Poverty in Putrajaya today.
Anwar said if a child from a rich family is sent to the Faculty of Engineering, whether Malay, Chinese or Iban, he should pay.
"This is so that we can meet the demand, otherwise this subsidy will continue. This revenue will then be used to help the poor more.
"Therefore, all forms of leakages, including education subsidies to the children of the rich, should stop," said Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister.
He added that autistic children also need to be given attention.
"If not, where is the compassion in this Madani economy?," he added. - September 30, 2024
