PEKAN: Efforts to improve the education standard in the country must be backed by everyone, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
The Prime Minister said acknowledging human and intellectual capital as national resources was vital to enrich the country.
“To be more specific, if we have a child in school, then as parents we must support the school's activities,” he said here yesterday before presenting prizes to pupils who excelled in the UPSR exam.
Najib said in advanced countries, it was evident that parents played an important role in their children's education, citing the United States as an example where it was a practice for the wealthy to leave some of their wealth to educational institutions.
“This is why great universities like Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are so rich in funds,” he said.
Najib said another matter to take note of was that parents and corporate figures in the US were willing to make the time to personally send their children for sports practices.
“And they are willing to wait till the end of the game for the sake of their children's extra-curricular achievements. They will also spend on equipment to help stimulate their children’s ability to think.
“That level of commitment contributes to the education institutions’ reputation,” he stressed.
Najib, who is the Pekan MP, later declared open the four-star Ancasa Royale Pekan Hotel.
He said Pekan, as a royal town, had tourism value and was also a renowned automotive hub besides being an education town.
“This is why the hotel is built in Pekan and not Temerloh,” he quipped.
The 133-room, seven-storey hotel is owned by UDA Holdings Bhd.
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