Sabah & Kota Kinabalu News Flash

07. August 2017

Institut-Sinaran - Education

Institut Sinaran Launched Education Fund

An education fund was launched by Institut Sinaran to help deserving but needy students to continue going to school.  Fong Tet Kong, the educational institution’s chairman of the Board of Governors, said that there are many students who get very high grades but cannot proceed to higher education because their families cannot afford to do so.  As a result, the nation loses the development of students who may be potential leaders or scientists.

It is because of this reason that the education fund was put up with the objective of giving deserving students a chance to be future assets of the nation and the world.  As a start, an amount of RM134,500 was accumulated from donations that started pouring in last week.

The launching was done in conjunction with the celebration of the institute’s 30th anniversary Saturday with the theme “Nurturing Entrepreneurship through Holistic Education”.  The celebration was officiated by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman.  Fong said that the past 30 years have been spent in establishing the good reputation of the school, that is, providing a holistic development of the students in preparation for them to be future leaders in their chosen careers.

Fong also disclosed that the institute is planning to expand course offerings in business, entrepreneurship, information technology (IT) and English proficiency.

Pan Borneo Highway a Link Between Indonesia and Malaysia

The Society Empowerment and Economic Development of Sabah (SEEDS) is encouraging Sabah businesses to look into business opportunities with Indonesia, especially in Kalimantan, as the two nations are gradually connected through a network of roads.  SEEDS chairman Datuk Badil Zaman Fazul Rahman said that Borneo Island will eventually make it as the new emerging market in Asean due to the presence of the Pan Borneo Highway and the Trans Kalimantan Highway.

One of the potential areas is Tawau in south eastern Sabah which is strategically located close to North Kalimantan, an area in Indonesia with a booming economy.  SEEDS has been coordinating with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce Tawau to conduct a roundtable discussion on the business opportunities in Tawau on Sunday.  Participants will also be given the chance to share opinions and recommendations for future considerations.  Representatives from North Kalimantan will also be there to present business opportunities in their area.

National Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration in Sabah

The annual celebration of the National Indigenous Peoples Day will be held at Dewan Solidariti Keuskupan Keningau in Sabah with the theme “A Decade of Indigenous Peoples’ Struggles”.  This year is the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in which Malaysia was one of the 144 countries that voted for its declaration.  This means that the Malaysian government should uphold rights and privileges of indigenous peoples.

However, the Malaysian Indigenous Peoples Network (JOAS), the event organizer, said that indigenous communities see some irregularities in the implementation of the declaration. There were encroachments and land grabbing done by both private companies and government agencies.  They are appealing to the government to be more committed and conscientious in their dealings with the indigenous peoples.

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