Free primary education announced
Published on: Saturday, December 10, 2022
By: Daily Express
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1965: Education Minister Mohammed Khir Johari announced free primary education in both Sabah and Sarawak with the abolition of fees in government and government-aided primary schools effective Jan. 1, 1966.
He said the move would cost the Government millions of ringgit but had not worked out the details yet.
He also said the Federal Government had more or less set the terms on which Malayan teachers are to serve in the Borneo states. They would be given inducement allowances.
“We want to see how many will come forward first,” he said, adding there has been no definite target set.
He said the central government had come to this decision despite its many other important commitments.
He said he did not like to stress this but was forced to do so in view of allegations by people who like to see Malaysians dismayed and disunited.
“No doubt we have taken time but there are things to consider.”
He said the Alliance Government in Kuala Lumpur had been considering very sympathetically the request of Sabah and Sarawak for the abolition of primary school fees.
In Sarawak, the Alliance Party in the State had pledged that should the party be returned to power, it would fight for free education.
“As you are aware, this represented a commitment imposed on the central government over and above what was agreed upon in the Malaysia Agreement.”
“I say this because it may not be fully realised here that the additional commitment amounting to several million dollars every year will have to be assumed by the Central Government, not because of any formal agreement it has made but because of its expressed desire to ensure that as soon as possible the two Borneo states should have the facilities in education available in mainland Malaysia.”
On PAP allegations that that the central government was planning to use pro-communist to overthrow the Singapore Government, he said it was mere day dreaming by PAP leaders.
Khir said in a football team like Malaysia, the players are drawn from all races and who scored the goal was not very material point. Referring to Sabah, he said “Sabah’s Chief Minister Peter Lo is a Chinese and everybody accepts him. Nobody has complained.”
“It is not the person or his racial origin that matters but the way the Government is run,” Khir said.
TYT’s new launch
1971: Head of State Tun Pengiran Haji Ahmad Raffae gave a reception aboard his new launch, the Putri Sabah.
Inter-Dept meet on disabled
1967: The first meeting of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Rehabilitation was held at the Secretariat to look into assisting handicapped people in the State.
One of those present, Dr Dingley, noted the absence of a survey to determine the number of handicapped in the State but said registration will not necessarily benefit them as it was just a statistical exercise.
Eight disabled have so far been sent to the rehabilitation centre in Kuala Lumpur. Dingley, an eye specialist, said , as far as blindness was concerned, a Society for the Blind was set up in 1963, in conjunction with the Wallace Training Centre which can train up to 36 people at a time.
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