KOTA SAMARAHAN: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) remains committed to making a name for itself and boosting its presence among the leading institutions of higher learning in Borneo.
With the announcement of Nusantara in Palangkaraya, East Kalimantan as Indonesia’s new capital, UNIMAS is formulating a more aggressive approach this year.
“UNIMAS aims to strengthen its role, contribution and involvement in the development of knowledge.
“This will be accomplished through strategic planning and the formation of strategic partnerships with higher learning institutes in Kalimantan, Indonesia,” said UNIMAS vice chancellor Datuk Dr Mohamad Kadim Suaidi.
He said this at the Majlis Anugerah Cemerlang UNIMAS 2022 (Excellent Awards Ceremony) or MAGU 2022 held at Arena Gemilang, DeTAR Putra, UNIMAS on Wednesday (March 9).
As UNIMAS approaches its 30th year since first established, it has trained its sights on becoming a respected global university.
“UNIMAS’s achievements thus far demonstrate that the university is devoted to developing the higher education sector in Sarawak in particular, and Malaysia in general, to be on par with other universities in the region,” said Kadim.
He said there will be more achievements gained in education, human capital and physical development of the institute.
In this regard, he appealed to re-evaluate the roles and responsibilities of UNIMAS staff to ensure success and excellence can continue yo be achieved in future.
“Indeed, the success and rapid change of UNIMAS today is the result of the efforts of its people who are trustworthy in performing their duties with efficient and high integrity in managing the administration of the university, as well as being resilient to future changes.
“Continue this momentum of excellence in an effort to make UNIMAS a respected model university in the region,” he added.
On another matter, Kadim said the employees of UNIMAS should not use the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse to be less productive in the workplace.
“The outbreak doesn’t stop at the Delta variant which had a significant impact on the socio-economic environment as well as the higher education landscape.
“Now the Omicron variant has not yet shown that the outbreak will subside in the near future.
“However, this is not a reason for us to slow down our productivity or our excellence in the workplace,” he said.
He added that challenges faced during this pandemic should be seen as an opportunity to move forward.
He said UNIMAS will continue to be committed in supporting the federal and state governments in tackling the pandemic.
Various initiatives have been implemented by UNIMAS in line with the mandate of yje Premier of Sarawak, he said.
“UNIMAS is also committed to continue to support and uphold government initiatives through the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030.
“The Premier of Sarawak has called for active involvement of all civil servants in Sarawak to continue to mobilise energy in an effort to help the state government maintain prosperity, harmony and drive the social and economic sector in Bumi Kenyalang.
“Therefore, as civil servants, UNIMAS employees bear the trust to ensure that the services provided meet the expectations of customers and stakeholders, as well as form a potent brand and quality as a result of the excellent reputation achieved,” Kadim said.
He pointed out that UNIMAS as one of the components of the Malaysian civil service is also responsible for realising the aspirations of the government.
In this regard, he said UNIMAS will ensure that the current aspirations of the federal as well as state government and the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (KPTM) are rooted at all levels in the university.
Also present were chairman of the board of directors of UNIMAS Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Sulong Matjeraie, federal secretary Datuk Amir Omar and deputy vice chancellors Prof Dr Wan Hashim Wan Ibrahim, Prof Dr Ahmad Hata Rasit and Prof Datu Mohd Fadzil Abd Rahman.
