KUCHING: Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg has called on higher educational institutions in Malaysia to include subjects related to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report in their syllabus.
He said this would enable the younger generation especially those who are furthering their studies in law to understand the formation of Malaysia and how crucial these documents are.
“There are those among our young generation who do not know the history of the formation of Malaysia. That is why we have problems with the MA63. Students who are studying law at universities like Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) and Universiti Malaya (UM) are not learning about it because there is no subject on such issues.
“The subject should be included so that students know the background on the formation of Malaysia. We know how crucial the MA63 and IGC are, it should be studied by anak Malaysia, so that they understand how Malaysia was formed,” he said.
He said this when speaking on ‘Untukmu Malaysia’ programme over RTM on yesterday night.
Abang Johari reiterated that it was his dream to see Sarawakians enjoy free education from early childhood to higher institutions of learning.
With the state’s strong financial revenue and budget, he expressed hope to achieve this dream before the year 2030.
He noted that some Sarawakian students were unable to further their studies due to high tuition fees and not getting the placement in the course or university of their choice through the Unit Pusat Universiti (UPU).
“This is why the state government has taken over the universities’ assets in Sarawak such as Swinburne University of Technology and Curtin University. These universities are given fund injection, but the state government does not collect anything from their fees,” he said.
Touching on the state government’s initiative to cover 80 percent tuition fees for Sarawakian students in University of Technology Sarawak (UTS), Abang Johari said the institution has seen significant increase in student admission.
He said the state government would extend this assistance as it is an investment for Sarawakian students to gain knowledge that will enable them to contribute to the development of Sarawak.
