No school fees, free textbooks for all 5.7 million schoolchildren
By Hazlin Hassan, Malaysia Correspondent

KUALA LUMPUR - Free school textbooks, no school fees and no more examination fees - education has suddenly become free in Malaysia.

This is a populist move that will go down well with the parents of 5.7 million schoolchildren.

Annual fees for primary and secondary schools will be abolished from next year, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi announced in his budget speech yesterday.

Textbooks will also be provided free of charge to every student, instead of just to low-income families earning below RM1,000 (S$448).

Students from low-income families will get a free uniform for one uniformed activity to encourage participation.

'With these measures, schooling in Malaysia is now completely free,' Datuk Seri Abdullah said in a speech telecast live over television and radio.

He did not say how much the government would lose in revenues by taking these measures.

Last year, the government abolished fees for major examinations.

Several parents contacted said they spend an average of RM100 a year on school fees, about RM60 on exam fees and RM300 on books.

'Now that all these will be free, it will be a relief,' civil servant Jalelawati Baba, 37, told The Straits Times.

The concessions will help reduce complaints of rising costs, while sweetening the ground for elections.

As financial manager Rozi Mat Said, 39, put it: 'For the low-income families, that money can be used on other things.'

Political analyst P. Ramasamy told Reuters: 'The present government has not been very popular over the past few months because it is seen as being very slow with implementing policies.

'It desperately needs to come up with a solution to win the people's hearts and minds - this is the budget which it thinks will do that.'