SANDAKAN, Nov 22 (Bernama) -- The government intends to establish an Institut Kemahiran MARA (IKM) in Sandakan to strengthen Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and address youth unemployment in Sabah, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He said the establishment of the institute is important to meet local demand and provide skills training opportunities so that Sabah’s youth can work in their own state.
“This is to meet the demand in the Sandakan surrounding area. Although there are 24 GiatMARA centres in Sabah, a college is still needed.
“Apart from the IKM college in Kota Kinabalu, the Sandakan area greatly needs a higher TVET college to provide skills training for students here,” he told reporters after officiating at the Sentuhan Kasih Desa@Sungai Sibuga programme here today.
The programme was also attended by Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail and Kedah UMNO chief Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid.
Also present were Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates in the 17th Sabah State Election -- Datuk Suhaimi Nasir for Sungai Sibuga, Mohd Zharif Aizat Samsudin (Sekong), Zaini Tiksun (Sungai Manila) and Datuk Chin Kim Hiung (Karamunting).
Earlier, in his speech, Ahmad Zahid, who is also Rural and Regional Development Minister, said that establishing an IKM here would help Sandakan youths secure '’premium-paying jobs'’ upon graduation.
“We do not want Sabah youths to work in the Peninsula just to earn a living. We want them to be trained and employed in Sabah to help their parents. We also want to resolve the unemployment issue in Sabah, which contributes to one in every five unemployed persons in Malaysia,” he said.
He added that the Rural and Regional Development Ministry and MARA will seek the necessary allocations to expedite the construction of the IKM if BN is given the mandate in the state election.
Polling is on Nov 29 and early voting is on Nov 25.
For the latest news on the 17th Sabah State Election, visit https://prn.bernama.com/sabah/index.php
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