154 Lorraine Pe Symaco
inter-ethnic group riots, was aimed at reducing inequalities especially
between Malay and Chinese ethnic groups, and education was one of the
vehicles used by the government for this purpose.
Another indicator of political will is the level of financial resources
devoted to building schools and employing teachers,^4 among others. Of
course, Malaysia was in a position to increase educational expenditure
because of the strength of its economy. As mentioned above, Malaysia’s
GDP grew annually by an average of 5 per cent over the period of 1970
and 2000, and 5.5 per cent between 2000 and 2010 (UNDP 2005; UN 2011).
In particular after the 13 May 1969 riots, the government’s nationwide
effort to foster unity and bridge the economic gap resulted in many schools
being built in rural areas and villages and existing schools being equipped
with better facilities and resources to equally enhance the quality of
education. Moreover, during the 1980s additional efforts were undertaken
to expand and improve educational infrastructure, especially in rural areas.
And under the Ninth and Tenth Malaysia Plan (2006–10 and 2011–15) the
building and upgrading of infrastructure continued, especially in schools
in Sabah and Sarawak.
In Figure 6.7 we observe that government expenditure on education
increased fairly steadily between 1970 and 2010, with the slope of increase
somewhat steeper between 1988 and 1998 and, even more so between 1998
and 2010. Furthermore, public expenditures as a percentage of GDP rose
FIGURE 6.7
Government Expenditure on EducationSource: Mohd Yahya, Fidlizah and Azilah (2012).