Kota Kinabalu: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said high quality human capital is important for the success of various government policies and elevates the progress of the state to a higher level.
He said the State also needs diversity in terms of human capital in order to boost the state’s economic growth, in line with the direction of Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ).
“Thus, human capital development in Sabah will not be concentrated in one specific field because we need expertise in every field.
“With new challenges after Covid-19, in addition to dependence on the manufacturing and agricultural industries, our country is also changing to a digital industry.
“Many cashless transactions are now being carried out online. The digital field needs to be explored by our youth in line with the country’s direction,” he said at the 33rd Outstanding Scholarship Award ceremony (ABCNS) at the Tun Ahmad Raffae Auditorium, Menara Tun Mustapha, Kota Kinabalu, on July 26.
It was the first ABCNS that he attended and officiated as Chief Minister. Some 40 students who attained excellent results in their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) exam in 2021 were selected.
The Chief Minister called on the ABCNS recipients to take advantage of the golden opportunity to further increase their level of mastery of knowledge, especially those related to creativity and innovation to be part of the catalyst for the goals of the Sabah Government.
Hajiji said the State Government continues to prioritise education in addition to diversifying education programmes to help boost the Federal Government’s efforts to improve the quality of education in the state.
He assured that the State Government would also ensure that young Sabahans do not drop out or fall behind in education.
“Thus the State Government through the SMJ Development Plan has introduced several incentive packages to enable them to continue their studies.
“The incentive packages are carried out through education assistance programmes that have been implemented with allocations amounting to RM24 million in 2021 such as the Higher Education Institution Assistance Programme, the Computer Assistance Programme (BAIK), the Special Examination Cash Assistance Programme (BAKTI) and the IPT Registration Assistance Programme (BUDI),” he said.
The incentive packages have been continued and increased to RM35 million this year.
This year, the State Government had also launched the Sabah State Education Fund (TPNS) with the aim of providing special education assistance to young Sabahans from the B40 group to increase their chances of continuing their studies at higher education institutions with an initial fund of RM54.5 million.
Hajiji also congratulated the Yayasan Sabah (YS) Group for achieving the highest income in the last nine years with a pre-tax collection for 2021 of RM424 million.
“This proves that if an organisation is well managed in addition to an encouraging external environment, higher income returns can be obtained.
“The higher the YS Group’s income, the greater its contribution to the people of this state,” he said.
Hajiji also hoped the State statutory bodies and other government stakeholder companies will show good performance in order to strengthen the agenda of the State Government for the people.
Touching on ABCNS, Hajiji, who is also the Chairman of the YS Board of Trustees, said it proved the continuous commitment and determination of the State Government through the YS Group in driving educational excellence by producing more excellent and quality human capital in future.
Until today, 675 Sabah children have benefited from this prestigious scholarship with an expenditure of RM115.8 million.
In addition, the Government also channelled large allocations to empower and improve the education development and infrastructure.
Special Tasks Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Arifin Mohd Arif and YS Director Datuk Ghulamhaidar Khan Bahadar were also present.
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