Free tertiary education policy not a political strategy

KUCHING: Sarawak’s free tertiary education policy from 2026 onwards is not a mere political ploy — rather, it aims to serve the best interests of Sarawakian students.

Deputy Education, Innovation, and Talent Development Minister Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee stressed that this policy was not part of their electoral campaign promises.

“GPS (Gabungan Parti Sarawak) never talked about this during our election, we only shared this idea after we won the election,” he emphasised.

He added that this policy would be implemented before the next Sarawak state election in 2027.

“We are not like other parties where things are promised before the election and never implemented after, we are different, just as this policy is not a political gimmick,” he added.

Furthermore, Dr Annuar stated this policy places pressure on Malaysia and other states to adopt similar policies.

“If Sarawak can do it, why not other states?

“When this policy was released, it became very popular and has brought pressure upon Malaysia and other high-income states,” he said during a Zoom meeting with the media yesterday (Dec 28).

In 2019, the federal government under the leadership of former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, aimed to implement free tertiary education across Malaysia, but this plan was halted after the change of governance in February 2020.

Current Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had also expressed his belief that tertiary education should be free for all Malaysians, except for the wealthy, during a forum at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).

However, he mentioned that this policy could not be implemented immediately due to financial constraints, as reported by local media.

Additionally, Dr Annuar assured that this policy would not compromise the admission standards set by the Ministry of Higher Education.

“Frankly, we will never compromise the minimum entry level into universities set by the Ministry of Higher Education, we are only focusing on the fees,” he said.

This policy aspires to inspire the younger generation to excel academically.

“A lot of students from a lower socioeconomic status may think that studying is a waste of time because they won’t be able to enter into universities or high learning institutions due to financial constraints.

“However, we hope that this policy will motivate us to work harder and help to increase the socioeconomic level of Sarawak,” he remarked.