KOTA KINABALU: Sabah needs human capital of diverse expertise in managing finance, wealth and resources to boost the state economy, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal (pix).
He said development of human capital in Sabah should not be focused in the field of engineering alone because apart from oil and gas, the food and other sectors too required highly-skilled and competent workers.
As such Mohd Shafie said government-linked companies such as Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) should plan on diversifying their education sponsorship to include the medical and food sciences fields.
“We need to guide the students towards majoring in skill areas which would be required in the future. We cannot just push them into one particular field because we also need accountants, lawyers and experts in nanotechnology for the nutritional sciences field, as these days people are into healthy food and lifestyle.
“We need a diverse range of skills and expertise as this will enable the nation to face global economic challenges,“ he said in his speech at the 2019 Petronas Education Sponsorship Award ceremony here today.
Also present were Sabah Innovation and Education Minister Datuk Dr Yusuf Yacob, Petronas chairman Datuk Ahmad Nizam Salleh and Group Human Resource Management senior vice-president Datuk Raiha Azni Abd Rahman.
At the event, Mohd Shafie also presented sponsorship awards to 150 selected students from all over the state.
Twenty-eight of the recipients were Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia school leavers who received sponsorship through the Petronas Education Sponsorship Programme (PESP) for first degree courses at Petronas University Technology and several foreign universities.
The sponsorship was also extended to 69 Mara Junior Science College students under the Budi-Petronas Programme and 53 trainees of various technical institutions under the Petronas Vocational Institution Sponsorship Programme.
Meanwhile, on behalf of the Sabah government, Mohd Shafie expressed his appreciation to Petronas for the company’s commitment in helping to develop skilled and competitive human capital in the state.
He also reminded the students to stay focused and work hard towards achieving their goals which would enable them to contribute to their families, communities and country upon graduation.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Nizam in his speech said since its inception in 1975, PESP has benefitted more than 36,800 students with an estimated investment value of over RM3.3 billion. — Bernama
