Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the government will ensure that all Malaysians receive free education, reported Bernama. He said the government placed strong emphasis on education as it was important in efforts to create a progressive community who would be able to continue with the country's development in future. "We want education to be given free of charge...free examinations and free text books. I don't want to see anyone in the country, regardless of race or whether he is rich or poor, to be deprived of education...this is unfair. "As the Prime Minister and leader of the government, I have made it (education) compulsory for all our children," he said in his speech at the gathering of the "People With the Prime Minister" at the Batu Burok Public Park, here today. Abdullah, who was accompanied by his wife Datin Seri Jeanne Abdullah, arrived here last night for a one-day working visit to Terengganu. Also resent at the function attended by more than 20,000 people was Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh. Abdullah said the government had allocated a major portion of the budget each year for education to ensure that the people obtained proper education. In fact, he said, the government provided various assistance to the poor and those wishing to further their studies in disciplines which involved high cost such as medicine and law. "In order to become a doctor, one would have to spend RM250,000. To become a lawyer, engineer and so on, the cost of study may reach tens of thousands of ringgit. If the government does not help, there are people who can't afford it (the course)," he said.
