SUPP president: Petronas should offer more scholarships to SarawakBY YU JI

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KUCHING: SUPP president Senator Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian has criticised Petronas for

not providing enough scholarships for Sarawakians.

The Senator called on the national oil company to "do more, speak less" when it comes

to development for Sarawak, where most of the country's oil wealth is from.

"Human capital development is more important than physical infrastructure

development," Dr Sim said in a statement on Wednesday, adding on to a debate he had

in the Senate on Tuesday, in which it was revealed Petronas only granted 102

scholarships to Sarawakians between 2010 and 2014.

"We want to be a high income country with high human resource capabilities - not a

high income country with poor human resources. We want real action in (the)

implementation (of projects and programmes) in Sarawak to ensure Sarawakians are on

par with the rest of Malaysians."

Dr Sim urged Petronas to "prove your sincerity with action". One of the questions the

cardiologist-turned-politician submitted to the Prime Minister's office for this sitting of the

Senate was on Petronas scholarships. In his reply, Minister in the Prime Minister's

Department Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar said the Petronas Education Sponsorship

Programme covered 1,551 Malaysians from 2010 to 2014.

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"Over the same period, 102 students from Sarawak received scholarships from

Petronas," Wahid said.

He added that the scholarship was given based on merit and candidates had to undergo

a stringent process. He also said Petronas was always "committed to contribute to

human resource development" via four initiatives including a Vocational Institution

Sponsorship and Training Assistance (Vista) programme.

Oil and gas revenue issues are not new in Sarawak. When Chief Minister Tan Sri

Adenan Satem was sworn in last year, he made public a request for the Federal

Government to up oil and gas royalty from 5% to 20%.

In May last year, the Sarawak Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a motion to

urge the Federal Government to consider the request. This was before world oil prices

tumbled at the end of last year.

More recently, Adenan told a technical skills college convocation ceremony here that he

had asked Petronas to consider setting up an institute of higher learning in Sarawak.

TAGS / KEYWORDS:Petronas, scholarships, Sarawak, SUPP

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Hanya 102 anak Sarawak terima Biasiswa Petronas daripada 1,551 penerimaPosted on June 25, 2015, Thursday

KUCHING: Jumlah anak Sarawak yang menerima Biasiswa Petronas hanya 102 orang daripada 1,551 yang menerimanya dalam tempoh 2010 hingga 2014.

Sambil melahirkan kekesalan, Ahli Dewan Negara Senator Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian berkata sumber manusia adalah salah satu bidang yang harus diberi penekanan dalam negara ini mengejar status berpendapatan tinggi.

“Peluang dan pembangunan sumber manusia adalah lebih penting daripada pembangunan infrastruktur fizikal.

“Kita ingin menjadi negara berpendapatan tinggi yang mempunyai sumber manusia kuat, bukan negara berpendapatan tinggi tetapi sumber manusia lemah,” katanya melalui aplikasi WhatsApp kepada pemberita, semalam.

Dr Sim menjelaskan, maklumat itu diterimanya semasa persidangan Dewan Rakyat kelmarin ketika bertanya jumlah penawaran Biasiswa Petronas dari 2010 hingga 2014 serta jumlah pelajar Sarawak yang berjaya mendapat biasiswa berkenaan bagi tempoh sama.

Beliau yang juga presiden Parti Rakyat Bersatu Sarawak (SUPP) melahirkan harapan agar lebih ramai penduduk Sarawak diberi peluang untuk menikmati biasiswa tersebut agar dapat membangun sejajar dengan negeri-negeri lain di Malaysia.

“Kurangkan bercakap tetapi gandakan usaha. Buktikan keikhlasan anda menerusi tindakan,” katanya.

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