By Nigel Edgar
KUCHING, Dec 13: The fate of the proposed Serian Industrial Training Institute (ILP) is in the hands of the Ministry of Finance.
Minister of Human Resources M Kulasegaran said he could only propose that the construction of the institute to be continued, but the final say would be from the Ministry of Finance.
He told reporters that he went to the ground and visited the site earlier today and thought that children and young people should be given the facilities to study. In that context, the construction of the institute, which was under his ministry, should be considered favourably.
“I will report to the Ministry of Finance, and they will decide. As you know, these are matters that are neither here nor there, in a sense whether it will take off or not. But when I went there, I think I’m looking more on our children who must be given facilities to study.
“So, I think that is a very revealing point, and we will look at it favourably. It’s a good decision that I went there today because I don’t want to make decisions sitting in an air-conditioned office,” he said after paying a courtesy call on Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg earlier this afternoon.
He, however, could not give his assurance that the project would continue as it would be up to the Ministry of Finance and despite the fact that the project was given the green light by the previous government.
Apart from providing tertiary education to the younger generation, he opined that the proposed institution would also be useful to train and upskill workers so that they would be able to earn a higher income.
“I was trying to get in touch with the previous Minister of Human Resources, Dato Sri Richard Riot Jaem, but he was not accessible today. Otherwise, I would have met and discussed with him.
“However, today I met the contractors, the local people and even went to the related departments to get some feedback,” said Kulasegaran. — DayakDaily
