‘No chance’ well-off parents will pass on school aid, say economists

 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has urged well-off parents to consider passing their share of the RM150 early schooling aid to families who need it more.

PETALING JAYA: Two economists are sceptical that well-off families would redirect their share of a RM150 early schooling cash aid to underprivileged families.

Goh Lim Thye of Universiti Malaya said there was almost no chance it would happen, and Geoffrey Williams of Malaysia University of Science and Technology said parents were notoriously selfish when it came to their children.

The government began distributing RM150 as early schooling aid to schoolchildren in January, in preparation for the new school year in March. Earlier this month Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim urged those better off to redirect their share to families who needed it more.

Goh said there were “practical challenges due to people’s natural reluctance to part with assistance they’ve received”.

He lamented the lack of a streamlined and user-friendly mechanism for redistribution, saying a successful voluntary redistribution scheme must be able to prioritise those most in need among the less privileged families.

“Such an initiative would require a dynamic and fair assessment process that can adapt to changes in family financial situations,” he told FMT. “The success of a redistribution initiative hinges on the cultural norms, awareness, and altruism within the community,” he said.

Williams said there was “almost no chance that any parents will take money from their own children to give to the children of other people.”

However, Williams proposed using the government’s Padu central database to facilitate a one-time universal payment, encouraging all parents to register on Padu and receive the early schooling aid.

Distributing the aid via Padu could also help increase Padu enrolment rates and demonstrate to middle-income and high-income groups that they also stand to benefit from registering.

“After that the government can make the school aid a targeted scheme based on income and need. They can raise the value of the cash transfers by redistributing from the rich to the poor,” he said. - FMT