THE Sabah Government, through Yayasan Sabah Group (YSG), spent RM685 million on scholarships, bursaries and higher education loans since 1967.
A total of 43,665 students in the State, taking various disciplines in local and international institutions of higher learning, have benefited from the aid, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
Apart from YSG, he said annual education sponsorship in the form of scholarships or bursaries were also provided by the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry, the State Public Service Department and Sabah Islamic Religious Council (Muis) through the Sabah Zakat Centre and Sabah Welfare Foundation.
He was speaking at an iftar event, College Students of Higher Education Institutions with the Sabah CM, at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre, Putrajaya, on April 10.
“The Sabah State Education Fund was also launched last year, to help more Sabah children who need educational sponsorship to continue their studies to a higher level.
Hajiji described all students as hope for the future, great assets of the State and nation, as well as future leaders.
He emphasised that in the Sabah Maju Jaya Development Plan, human capital development was one of the main focuses.
Therefore, he said, various educational assistance has been given out to ensure that young people were able to become versatile and competitive “backup” leaders.
“When students graduate, Sabah and the country need their participation to bring the State and the country towards progress.
“Students will be backup leaders as well as a source of human capital for the future,” he said.
The State Government has high hopes for the students to jointly contribute to the development of Sabah, he said.
Despite struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic until last year, he said the Sabah State Government has approved the entry of foreign and domestic direct investment, including several more investment projects currently in the process of being implemented from the economic sector worth RM33.4 billion.
“These investments are expected to generate more than 5,000 job opportunities,” said Hajiji.
“The Government has also officially taken over a 50 per cent stake in the Samarang oil field, where Sabah is expected to receive a 50 per cent partner qualification from oil and gas production.
“With all these developments, the government demands a role from all students to contribute to the development in Sabah,” he added.
As the generation that will become the leaders of Sabah in the future, he urged the students to prepare themselves with knowledge, including worldly and spiritually.
“The State of Sabah is in dire need of quality leaders and human capital, with high knowledge, strong personality, and good sense.
“Regardless of where and what position you (students) will hold, your role is still needed to succeed in the national development mission as we all hope for,” said Hajiji.
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