KOTA KINABALU: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor has announced that the Sabah government will offer free education at University College Yayasan Sabah (UCSF) and Kolej Teknologi Yayasan Sabah (KTYS), alongside a new loan subsidy scheme to ease the burden of more than 100,000 student borrowers.
He said the initiative reflects the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government’s commitment to education and human capital, noting that over RM1.3 billion has been invested in the sector since 2021, the largest allocation in Sabah’s history.
This includes one-off aid for students studying locally and outside the state, as well as the state’s biggest scholarship fund of RM136 million in 2025.
Hajiji credited rising state revenue, which has reached nearly RM7 billion, for enabling these programmes.
He added that welfare initiatives such as SMJ Friendly Homes for the poor and monthly RM300 cash aid for 100,000 households further prove the government’s focus on people’s well-being.
He urged Sabah’s 970,000 young voters to back GRS in the upcoming state election, warning against “past mistakes” that led to stalled projects and poor planning.
“The future of Sabah is in your hands. This is the time, this is the moment,” he said.
Hajiji also highlighted Sabah’s economic progress, citing Malaysia’s third-highest investment inflows in early 2025 and a drop in unemployment from 8.2pc in 2020 to 6.2pc in Q2 2025, which he said reflects better job opportunities for the state’s youth.
