MIRI, Sept 13: Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg wants to digitise Sarawak to a level comparable to countries like Estonia, which is said to be the most digitalised country in the world today.
“In Estonia, everything is digital. Therefore, I encourage our students to identify new strategic disciplines and embrace technology. Today, we are going for big data analyses besides artificial intelligence,” he said at a Yayasan Sarawak function held at Curtin Malaysia Miri Campus to present educational awards to bright students here yesterday afternoon.
He advised students to pursue courses that offer knowledge and employability skills that are very much in demand in today’s world.
Also present at the gathering were Yayasan Sarawak director Azmi Bujang, Pro-Chancellor of Curtin Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan, Curtin Sarawak Pro Vice-Chancellor, president and chief executive Professor Jim Mienczakowski.
A total 136 students from 19 schools in Miri, Subis and Baram received incentives for coming up tops in SPM and STPM 2017.
Recipients of the SPM awards received Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) premium savings certificates worth RM500 each. For STPM, the recipients received BSN premium savings certificates worth RM700 each.
At the event, the state government also presented grants of RM10,000 each to the Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) of SMK Luar Bandar Miri, SMK Merbau, SMK Luak, SMK Long Lama and SMK Bekenu.
In his speech, Yayasan Sarawak director Azmi Bujang said since Curtin Malaysia Miri Campus came into being 20 years ago, the foundation had sponsored 931 students to study in the university, involving a total of RM57 million.
“Currently, we are sponsoring 93 students to study at Curtin University Miri Campus. It involves a total commitment of RM8.2 million,” he said.
He added that the foundation’s total commitment for scholarship and study loans for this year totalled RM64 million.
For the year 2017, a total 1,432 SPM and STPM students in the state received excellent student awards from Yayasan Sarawak.
The award presentation here is the third one to be held in recent weeks. The first was held in Kuching, followed by another one in Sibu. — DayakDaily
