WARISAN: ENSURE SCHOLARSHIPS BUILD INDUSTRIOUS AND GLOBALLY RECOGNISED SABAHANS
15 June 2021
KOTA KINABALU: Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) took the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS)-led State Government to task over the issue of scholarships granted by Yayasan Sabah to students who scored exceptionally well in their SPM examination.
Its treasurer-general Terrence Siambun said that the scholarship grants announced recently by the foundation do not reflect the aspirations of Sabahans to make Sabah into an industrious and prosperous State.
"Everyone including (Chief Minister) Datuk Hajiji Mohd Noor and (Deputy Chief Minister) Datuk Jeffrey Kitingan know that Sabah is the poorest state in Malaysia.
"We also know that to enable us to escape from this conundrum, we need to ensure our Sabahan students receive internationally-recognised education as well as to secure untapped Sabahan Talents to undertake the Future of Jobs where technology, digital engineering and artificial intelligence are fast evolving our Future Works," he said in his statement today.
According to Siambun, one of the key factors that will determine whether investors would come to Sabah is the availability of human capital especially in the fields of Varied new Technology, Machine Learning Algorithm, Internet of Things, Engineering skills, Aerospace, Oil & Gas.
He said new agriculture technology, restoration of forests especially driving Sabah into being a major player for carbon sequestrations for the future and many skillsets that Sabah needs to acquire can be best done by designing scholarships in these untapped fields.
This is so that the next generation would be able to navigate and sustain Sabah onto its destiny as a green industry of the future," he added.
"Hence, if the State Government aspire to make Sabah an industrial or a manufacturing state, then obviously we need to ensure our new batch of human capital has the best knowledge as to how to properly manage global companies that focuses on industrialization and manufacturing.
"And we should not contend in merely producing third or second tiers of technical and skill graduates - we have a responsibility to continue making Sabah a strong state," he asserted.
However, Terrence pointed out that this is where the GRS leaders have a misplaced priority when the State Government's Yayasan Sabah is offering scholarships that do not reflect the aspiration as most of the scholarships offered is not geared toward producing such graduates.
"So in a sense, the slogan 'Sabah Maju Jaya' by GRS is nothing but hot air to make the current State Cabinet as having something to do."
Siambun was commenting on the recent announcement by Yayasan Sabah on its scholarships and loan offers to Sabahan students where eight types of scholarships, three 'dermasiswa' and student loan are up for grabs.
"Three out of the eight types of scholarships are catered for Islamic studies while the other three were reserved for Hotel/Tourism, Engineering and a Diploma course, leaving our students who achieved outstanding results to jostle for the last two scholarships.
"How can this be? If GRS is really keen on building the State and making it prosperous, then obviously it would be in all eyes to ensure our Sabahan students received globally-recognised knowledge on industrialisation and manufacturing by increasing the numbers of scholarship for them because they will be the ones to determine the future of the State in three years time when they enter the workforce," he stated.
Siambun also expressed hope that GRS leaders would try to impress the State Government and Yayasan Sabah on the necessity to provide quality education to the Sabahan students who excelled in their examinations.
"There is nothing much we can expect from the Kitingan whom I believe is now lost in space when in the first place, should have been very aware on this matter. But there are several GRS leaders I hope can bring the matter to the Chief Minister's attention.
"I hope the State's Minister of Trade and Industry, Datuk Joachim Gunsalam will look into this issue seriously because I believe he would by now have received many feedbacks and responses from investment agencies in the country.
"And the same goes for the Chairman of POIC Datuk Yong Teck Lee whom I understood is trying very hard to bring investors to invest in POIC.
"But how would the foreign and domestic investors be interested to do so if the policy and decision of the State Government do not reflect its commitment to serve potential investors by providing quality human capital?
"With the Global Economy now entering into the post-Covid Pandemic era where many Multi-National Corporations are now back in business, this is the right time for Sabah to prepare herself for the boom in a few years to come."
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