BY NURA VALENTIANA & JACINTHA JOLENE
SIBURAN: No school in the state shall be disregarded by the Sarawak government; instead, support and similar attention will be given to all the schools whether it is a Chinese, missionary, or public school.
Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg stated that the government’s devotion under his leadership was evident by its annual allocations of RM10 million to Chung Hua middle schools and RM12 million to Chung Hua primary schools.
He noted that the same is done for missionary schools, with aid channelled through the Other Religions Affairs Unit (UNIFOR), because the majority of the institutions are affiliated with the Methodist, Anglican, or Catholic churches.
“We don’t care whatever school it is…we want all children to have the right to an education because they are Sarawak’s children.
“We are no different in what we ultimately want to provide knowledge to our children so that they can contribute to society,” he pointed out.
He said this when officiating at the Sekolah Rendah Bantuan (SRB) Chung Hua Siburan Mini Sport Stadium here yesterday.
As such, Abang Johari insisted that he will carry on the late Pehin Sri Adenan Satem’s intention to acknowledge the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC).
“If we don’t recognise UEC, we will lose because many countries recognise UEC such as Singapore, United States, United Kingdom and so on,” he said.
On the same note, he said that the establishment of the Ministry of Education, Innovation, and Talent Development demonstrates his dedication to the educational needs of Sarawak children.
“We are comprehensive because we want to recognise our children’s potential and skill.
“In Putrajaya, they call it the Ministry of Education, while in Sarawak, it is called the Ministry of Education, Innovation, and Talent Development,” he said.
