Sabah News Flash

Education Department Impressed with School’s Success

Sabah Education Department Assistant Director (Chinese Schools) Tam Yun Fook said that the State Education Department is impressed by the success of Kian Kok Middle School under the leadership of Datuk Clement Yeh, Chairman of the Board of Directors.  Besides teaching the Chinese language to students, it also teaches Bahasa Malaysia and English, making their graduates a cut above the rest because they are trilingual.  Many of their graduates are now successful in their chosen career.

Yeh made a courtesy call Thursday to Tham to invite him for the installation of the new set of Kian Kok Board of Directors.  Aside from this, he also discussed with Tham the procedures to be followed should foreign students want to enroll in Kian Kok.  Because of their success, many Chinese have been inquiring about how to enroll in Kian Kok as foreign students.

According to Tham, he has yet to discuss this new development with the Immigration Department so that once matters have been resolved, Kian Kok can start accepting Chinese students for the next school year.

EPF Education Necessary

There is a need to educate the people, especially those in interior Sabah, about the benefits of contributing to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).  This was observed by Sabah Consumer Rights and Social Activist Datuk Patrick Sindu.  Most people in this part of the state are self-employed farmers whose income are from sales of their produce at the weekly bazaar.  Saving for their old age is a very rare concept for them that when retirement comes, they remain in the poverty class which is prevalent in the area.  Patrick sees the need for EPF to get to the ground and educate these people.

Patrick suggested on empowering the working class through education of employees regarding their responsibilities and benefits with regards to their EPF accounts.  He hinted on the monitoring of employers because some are not truthful when it comes to the remittance of contributions to the EPF.

Two EPF contributors shared their experiences and plans.  Rozie Jumat, whose work is related to the socioeconomic activities in the interior, said that through the years, the people are gradually aware of the benefits of EPF through word of mouth and from the changes they can see in their community, like the construction of a bigger house.  Mohd Rhafie Ahmad would like to fulfill his dream of a big house and a comfortable life for his family as well as to contribute to his religion.

Sabah Civil Servants to Receive Special Aid

Sabah state civil servants and members of the Community Development Leaders Unit will be getting a RM500 special aid in January 2017 in appreciation for their services to the government.  This was announced Thursday by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman during his tabling of the 2017 State Budget in the State Legislative Assembly.  Furthermore, the ceiling for civil servants’ housing loan will be increased from RM350,000 to RM500,000.

Musa said that he still believes in the commitment and dedication of civil servants despite the fact that a few of them recently gave bad light to the reputation of government workers by being involved in graft and corrupt practices.