The Malaysian Trust School Program: A Public-Private Partnership (PPP)?

SIVAKUMAR VELAYUTHAM, Nilai University, Malaysia
RASHEDUL HASAN, INTI International University, Malaysia
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Public-private partnership (PPP) has been utilized by many countries as a default solution for infrastructure projects. Recently, the application of the PPP concept toward enhancing education quality is witnessed in emerging markets. While the traditional PPP structure is based on a unique relationship between the government and public firms, several various PPP structures have been in practice to deliver goods or services to the general public. In this research, we explore the Trust School initiative undertaken by the Malaysian Ministry of Education (MOE) using a PPP structure by collaborating with Yayasan Amir (a foundation set up by Khazanah, a sovereign wealth fund of the Government of Malaysia). This study adopts a descriptive research framework and uses secondary data in the form of a government report, annual report, and published articles, to critically assess the nature of the PPP relationship between the Ministry of Education (MOE) and Yayasan Amir. A comparative analysis between the traditional PPP structure and the PPP structure adopted for the Trust School initiative reveals that the Trust School initiative appears to be a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project of Khazanah. Findings provided by this study are expected to clarify the accountability relationships among the stakeholders of the Trust School initiative and could allow policymakers to reform strategies relating to resource allocation for the future Trust schools in Malaysia