BY SITI NURAIN RATANI
KUCHING: The state government is pursuing greater autonomy over education matters from the federal government under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier Department (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazal said, although education is under the jurisdiction of the federal government, the Sarawak government should be given more autonomy in terms of its implementation.
She pointed out that one of the issues was the 90:10 policy towards realising 90 percent of teachers in Sarawak were Sarawakians.
“But this matter is still under negotiation. We are negotiating for more autonomy in the implementation of our national education policy.
“I do not know much about the issue of education in Sarawak, but we are fighting for our rights under MA63, our right to fight for our autonomy,” she said.
She was speaking at the opening ceremony of Jom Berambeh in Samariang held in conjunction with the Teachers’ Day 2022 celebration on Saturday (May 21).
At the function, Hasidah announced an allocation of RM10,000 to the Kuching District Education Office to finance the Jom Berambeh programme.
She commended the department for organising the programme in appreciation of the services and contributions of teachers and hoped that similar programmes would be held in future.
