MORE than 2.17 million students have redeemed their RM100 Madani Book Vouchers, says Wong Kah Woh.
The Deputy Education Minister said that, as of Oct 19, the redemption rate stood at 97.34%.
He said 5.59 million books had been purchased through the Education Ministry’s Book Capital platform, with the programme scheduled to end on Oct 31.
“We are targeting a 100% redemption rate by the end of the programme,” he said in reply to a question from Syahredzan Johan (PH-Bangi).
Syahredzan had asked about the redemption rate, the number of students and educators who had benefited, and the programme’s economic impact.
Wong said 2,234,101 students from public institutions under the Education Ministry were eligible for the RM100 voucher this year.
They included students in secondary schools, vocational colleges, matriculation colleges, teacher education institutes and Form Six colleges, he said.
Wong said the ministry had allocated RM230mil for this year’s programme for institutions under its purview, excluding those under the Higher Education Ministry.
Asked whether RM100 was sufficient to meet students’ needs amid rising costs, Wong said the voucher amount was determined based on the government’s current financial capacity.
Wong also defended the use of the online Book Capital platform, saying it helped ensure vouchers were redeemed for books and prevent leakages.
He said there had been “zero leakage and 100% transparency” over the past three years.
The platform currently has 1,076 active sellers offering 822,842 titles, compared with 168 active sellers when the programme was launched in 2024.
Wong said the programme had generated cumulative purchases of 14.94 million books worth RM489.32mil from 2024 to this year, adding that this supported the book industry supply chain, including writers, publishers, printers, distributors, booksellers and logistics providers.
In 2024, the programme benefited 3.57 million recipients and recorded purchases of 7.8 million books, backed by an allocation of RM287mil, he said.
Last year, 428,027 education service officers received Madani Teacher Book Vouchers, with 1.55 million books purchased under a RM43mil allocation, he added.
