Adenan: Sarawak emphasises on providing technical education

KUCHING: Sarawak is currently emphasising on providing technical education that is much needed by the industry, in providing better job opportunities for graduates.
Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem said the problem with unemployed graduates nowadays was because they were not technically qualified to grab the vast job opportunities in the market.
Citing that it was a "disaster" caused by the wrong education policy taken years ago, he said it was not too late to rectify the matter.
"We notice that if you are technically educated, you can easily get a job within the industry," he said at the opening of the Third Sarawak Business And Investment Summit at a leading hotel, here today.
He said with the world facing the current "bleak" economy, Sarawak had many attractive "incentives" to offer, such as the cheap electricity supply, land, and the ability to provide trained manpower.
Adenan said Sarawak's goal was to promote socio-economic development as a catalyst for change, and various projects in recent years had resulted in healthy contributions to the nation's overall GDP growth.
"We are the third largest contributor to Malaysia's economy amounting to RM118.9 billion in 2015," he said.
"The manufacturing sector has undergone much reforms since 2003. We have fully liberalised equity holding in all manufacturing projects. Foreign investors can hold 100% equity in all investment in new projects as well as in expansion or diversification projects by existing companies irrespective of the level of export," he added.
Organised by the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (Asli), the summit aims to bring together stakeholders such as policy makers, economists, corporate leaders and state leaders with strong interest in Sarawak to share their views and observations on key issues in the development of Sarawak.
It also serves as a platform for the state government to review its strategic direction, fresh from its newly received mandate to lead the state in its final push towards becoming a high income state.
The one-day summit consists of five sessions discussing issues such as advancing the human capital, enhancing the infrastructure and Connectivity, modernising Agriculture and other matters related to Sarawak development.
Among the speakers are the Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, Sarawak's Public Utilities Minister Datuk Seri Stephen Rundi, and the Human Resource Ministry's Deputy Secretary-General of Operations Dr Mohd Ghazali Abas, representing its minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem.
Among the moderators are the Sarawak's Assistant Tourism Minister Datuk Talip Zulpilip, Recoda (Regional Corridor Development Authority) chief executive officer Tan Sri Wilson Baya Dandot, and Bernama chairman Datuk Seri Azman Ujang. — Bernama