By Norrasyidah Arshad
PETALING JAYA, July 31 — The people of Selangor can benefit much more from having a state administration that moves in unison with the federal government, said Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari.
He said having the same parties rule both governments would ensure that schemes and initiatives can be implemented faster, while promising better livelihood for the rakyat.
Citing the state’s People’s Tuition Programme (PTRS) as an example, Amirudin noted how the initiative was only able to benefit about 6,000 students when it was first launched in 2009.
“At the time, the state government was not the same as the federal’s. Then, we had to use religious schools during the night (for the tuition) and recruit teachers who were willing to teach.
“As soon as we were both from the same party in 2018, I met the education minister and state education director. We discussed and reviewed (the programme), and increased the teacher’s allowances,” he said when launching the ‘Malaysia Madani in the civil service’ programme, here, today.
Amirudin said his efforts paid off when the number of students who followed the initiative grew over the years.
He pointed out that at present, 63,000 students are enrolled for the free tuition. They are also provided with free lunch to ensure a conducive learning environment.
“If the federal and state governments are able to work together and are compatible with one another, only then can we expand the state initiatives.”
PTRS was first introduced in March 2009, utilising community centres as tuition premises, before it was expanded to school and online following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The programme offers educational assistance in the form of additional classes to students from families with a household income of less than RM2,000 and who have average or poor academic results.
Last year, RM7 million was allocated by the state government for the programme.
