Skip to content Skip to sidebar Skip to footer

Response to Rosmah seeking to increase budget for Permata

I refer to the recent comments made by the wife of the Prime Minister Rosmah Mansor regarding the Permata programme.

According to reports, Rosmah mentioned that she is looking to increase the budget for Permata and will ask from the Finance Minister, who is her husband.

Permata is fundamentally an education programme, and as such, any education policy should be part of comprehensive Education Ministry initiative.

It is puzzling that Permata is stationed under the Prime Ministers Department when it clearly should be under Education Ministry. What is even more questionable is the fact that no Minister is handling the programme that has a budget of RM85 million, but rather it is helmed by the wife of the Prime Minister who does not have an executive role in the government.

Furthermore, it is absurd for Rosmah to publicly mention that she will speak to her husband about increasing Permata’s budget, whilst neglecting to mention that Permata actually had an increase in budget in 2017 whilst the education budget, especially higher education, has been cut.

If she truly cares for education, allow Permata to be placed under the Education Ministry, with experts and dedicated resources to take over the programme and ensure that it is aligned with the overall direction of the education system.

Rosmah can also make a healthy donation to the Education Ministry while at it, seeing as she shares the aspiration of many to see the success of our education.