MTPMA63: Sarawak struggles for state education needs

LIMBANG, 02 Oct: Sarawak continues to fight for state education needs including infrastructure aspects, connectivity and greater involvement of the state government in education administration and development through implementation of the 1963 Malaysia Agreement (MA63).

Deputy Prime Minister of Sarawak, Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said the matter was among the key issues raised at the recent Meeting of the Malaysia Agreement Implementation Action Council (MTPMA63) in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

"At the MTPMA63 meeting held in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, I have already expressed the needs of educational development in Sarawak.

"I touched on the need to improve educational infrastructure by providing opportunities for our officials to upgrade facilities and amenities.

"I also touched on the concept of apartheid, imagine this Sarawak state is such a big state and we don't want this Sarawak compared to the states in small Peninsular Malaysia", he said.

He said so at the 44th Sarawak State Sports and Cultural Services (PSKPP) Party Programme for Balanced and Elderly Districts in the Balanced Suarah Hall, last night.

According to Awang Tengah who is also the Second Sarawak Minister of Natural Resources and Urban Development, the recruitment of officials as well as the union structure should take into account the real situation and needs of Sarawak as a vast state.

He said Sarawak also expressed the importance of giving more power to the Directorate of Education in implementing strategic matters related to education.

He said Sarawak also requested a little flexibility in the use of languages other than Bahasa Malaysia and English, especially to support the development of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as well as related fields.

According to him, the education sector is among the things under MA63 that have been through a negotiation process and partly agreed upon, including greater state government involvement in planning educational needs.

"At the meeting he said that many things have been resolved, and Sarawak's rights and interests as enshrined in the MA63 Treaty will continue to be fought", he said.

The meeting was attended by Awang Tengah's wife, Datuk Dayang Morliah Datuk Awang David; Deputy Minister of Transport Datuk Hasbi Habibollah; Member of the State Assembly (ADUN) Batu Dato Lake Paul Palu Gumbang; Sarawak Education Director Omar Mahli and Regional Education Officer Siti Mariam Salleh.