BMKUALA LUMPUR — The education allocation in Budget 2027 must hold to four principles: fairness, transparency, institutional consistency and a forward-looking outlook. That was the call from Wong Kang Thai, President of the Malaysia-China Culture and Education Association (MCCEA), in a statement urging the government to ensure that schools of every stream receive reasonable resources according to actual need, so that every child — whichever education system, community or region they come from — has an equal chance to develop.
In an era of intensifying global competition for talent, he said, with artificial intelligence and the digital economy reshaping the world order at speed, education is no longer merely a social welfare question. It is core national infrastructure — for competitiveness, for the continuity of civilisation, and for the prospects of the next generation.
“In drawing up the budget, the government should not simply compare how much was allocated this year and how much more will be added next year. The deeper question is whether every ringgit of public resource genuinely creates more opportunity — for families, students, young people, schools and vulnerable groups.”
Education, Wong noted, has always been one of the most effective instruments for breaking the cycle of poverty, lifting social mobility and strengthening national unity. For that reason, allocations to schools across the different streams should not be shaped by politics, ethnicity or a school’s background. They should return to five objective measures: student numbers, the condition of facilities, regional need, teaching quality, and long-term development planning.
The significance of that principle, he argued, lies not only in the fairness of the distribution but in its effectiveness. When resources follow real need, they reach the schools and students who need them most. When the logic of distribution is subordinated to non-educational factors, even a large allocation struggles to translate into genuine upward mobility.
On international cooperation, Wong said the long-standing warmth of Malaysia-China relations still leaves considerable room to work together across education, culture, technical and vocational training, youth exchange and higher education. Malaysia should draw on that foundation of friendship to bring in more education cooperation, teacher exchange, youth training, artificial intelligence and STEM curricula, and industry-oriented models of skills development.
He added that TVET Malaysia China cooperation in particular deserves to be deepened. China has accumulated mature experience in advanced manufacturing, green technology and digital skills, while Malaysia brings its own industry networks, ASEAN market perspective and multilingual talent. Where the two sides work as complements rather than through one-way transfer, the young people they train will be able to move confidently between both systems — and that is where the real value of Malaysia-China education cooperation lies.
Wong concluded that Budget 2027 should direct more resources towards creating opportunity: youth education, TVET training, employability skills, scholarships and study grants, entrepreneurship financing, digital capability and international exchange platforms. The success of an education budget, he stressed, is ultimately measured not by whether the numbers rise or fall, but by how many children are given a chance to change their circumstances.
(Source: China Press report, 27 August 2026)
中文摘要
马中文化教育协会会长王康泰发表文告指出，2027年财政预算案的教育拨款必须坚持公平、透明、制度化及面向未来的原则，各源流学校应依据学生人数、设施情况、地区需要、教学品质及长期发展规划获得资源，而非受政治、族群或学校背景影响。他强调，教育是打破贫穷循环、提升社会流动与促进国家团结的关键工具。他也指出，马中关系长期友好，双方在马中教育与马中技职教育领域仍有巨大合作空间，大马应善用这一基础引入师资交流、青年培训、人工智能与STEM课程及产业导向技能培养模式。他总结，预算案应把资源投放在“创造机会”，衡量成败的标准是有多少孩子因此改变命运。
About MCCEA: Malaysia-China Culture and Education Association (MCCEA), Registration No. PPM-034-10-08072025, is dedicated to advancing cooperation between Malaysia and China in culture, education and TVET, with ASEAN and the international community in view. Website: www.mccea.org.my
