KUCHING, Dec 1: Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg has urged local businesses and industries to assist in retaining homegrown talents and graduates.
He said it was of paramount importance to retain homegrown graduates in the state’s development plans for a digital Sarawak and to the spinoff that will arise.
“It makes little sense to train our people but only to see them uproot to another place and contribute to development elsewhere,” he said at Swinburne University’s 25th Anniversary Celebration here yesterday.
However, Abang Johari said the state government could not do more as ‘it boils down to the forces of demand and supply’.
He hence called on local businesses and industries to assist in a manner that benefits both employers and employees.
He was happy to note that Swinburne has taken up the challenge to modernise the industry with more research and development and said he is looking forward to seeing the outcomes arising out of its strategy.
To ensure a better understanding of the demands of industry, Abang Johari said institutions of higher learning must not be ‘closed’ entities but instead, be open and work with businesses, industries, the community and other stakeholders.
He said that engagement with the relevant stakeholders ensures graduates are in touch with issues of the day and that could arise in the future, so that they are prepared and are able to offer the skills and knowledge that will be demanded of them.
He also stressed on the protection of the natural environment when building physical infrastructure in pursuit of Sarawak’s advancement to greater heights.
“It would be meaningless to see Sarawak developed at the expense of its environment. This is not the legacy we want to leave behind for our children and their children,” he added. — DayakDaily
