Free Schooling = ?

The latest Malaysian Budget promised the Malaysians free schooling, including providing free textbooks to all.

After reading the report that the Government has paid RM224 for a set of screwdrivers (market price RM40), 10 technical books for more than RM10k (market price RM417), with a total expenditure of nearly RM800 million, I can't help feeling that the free textbooks proposals are not solely intended to help the rakyat. Instead, there will be another huge 'leakage' created to be used to buy the support from certain parties in the coming general elections. For years we've known that this is a common business model for our Government projects. The worst thing is no one will be brought to justice in the end. The list goes on... RM4.6 billion bailout on the Port Klang Free Zone scandal which has been filtered from mass media, the RM1.4 billion hole found in a deal to build 6 offshore patrol vessels...

As for the Government's excuse to restrict press freedom in the name of preserving harmony, appalling to say that it has been badly abused to distort the truth, the latest involving the police firing the shots at a Bersih gathering. Bersih is the non-governmental organisation concerned with ensuring the cleanliness and integrity of the electoral process in Malaysia. The mainstream media could not even get the name of the organisers right. Not surprisingly they named PAS, DAP and PKR as the organisers. There was little or no mention of the people who were injured by gunshots fired by the police. Everything is lopsidedly reported with the intention to demonise the opposition parties.