KUALA LUMPUR: Mohd Nazri Aziz, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, came in for brickbats for his callous statement on the lack of scholarships for high achievers.
MP for Lembah Pantai Nurul Izzah Anwar took the minister to task, saying his statement goes to prove the government lacks understanding on how to develop the nation’s human capital.
“Nazri said the government does not have enough funds but it has all the money to pay Apco (Worldwide) in the millions and also to build a new Parliament House for RM800 million,” Nurul told FMT today.
Nazri said yesterday that the Public Service Department (PSD) is facing difficulties providing scholarships for the growing pool of bright students emerging in the country as it lacked funds.
Therefore, he urged the public to accept the reality though it may be highly unpopular.
Nurul Izzah said the public should be outraged by Nazri’s statement and a strong signal should be sent to the government to address this matter “because the future of all our children is at stake”.
PSD affected by budget slash
In a related development, Nurul Izzah said the lack of funds in the PSD is also affecting other areas as well.
“Normally, all PSD trainees undergo an outbound school programmes (OBS) conducted by the department but because of a budget slash, a private contractor has been hired to handle the training.
“We are not even sure of the contractor’s background,” she added.
On May 31, Norhashimah Wahid, an administrative officer with the Finance Ministry, died while undergoing commando-style training organised by the National Institute of Public Administration.
The course is said to be mandatory for all trainees who are taking up the Public Management Diploma course.
Nurul Izzah also said the Finance Ministry should be held responsible for this matter, which has yet to provide a satisfactory answer over her death.
“We have a trainee who had lost her life due to their training but so far the party involved has not been brought to book,” she said.
