By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Sept 4: The Sarawak government has allocated RM1 million for social research in 2027 to strengthen data-driven research as the basis for more accurate and effective policymaking.
In a TVS report, Sarawak Minister for Women, Children, and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said a data-driven approach is important to ensure every government policy, programme, and initiative is formulated based on the actual conditions faced by society.
“Whatever the policy, long- or short-term programmes, or problems faced, the solutions must always be based on data. That is how our government works, rather than relying on assumptions and personal feelings.
“Insya-Allah, with an emphasis on such an approach, Sarawak will be on the right track in terms of the policies, programmes, initiatives and support systems that will be provided to its people,” she said when met by the media after the presentation of Implementation Research Grants under the Sarawak Social Development Council Research Grant (SDCRG) here today.
According to Fatimah, the SDCRG was established specifically to enable social-related research to be conducted in a more structured manner after receiving approval from the State Government in October 2025.
She said the Sarawak Social Development Council (MPS) also had the capacity to conduct small-scale studies, while larger research involving Sarawak would be carried out with the expertise of higher education institutions.
She said four studies received grants this year, totalling RM334,986, and were expected to be completed before the end of this year.
“The grant amount for each study varies depending on the scope of the research, including whether it is micro- or macro-level, whether qualitative or quantitative methods are used, and the sample size required,” she explained.
Among the studies receiving the grants are ‘Women in Decision Making in Civil Service – A Decade’ by Swinburne University of Technology; ‘Assessing Resilience Among Parents of Children With Special Needs in Sarawak’ and ‘State General Assistance: An Impact Analysis on the Wellbeing of Aid Recipients in Sarawak’ by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas); and the ‘Sarawak Social Trends Report 2020-2025’ by Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Bintulu Campus.
Fatimah said more extensive research was important as Sarawak was expected to become an ageing State by 2028, requiring policy planning that takes into account demographic changes.
Meanwhile, she said proposals for future social research could come not only from ministries and government agencies, but also from issues raised by communities, which could serve as a basis for research.
She said this approach would ensure the studies remained relevant to people’s needs and contributed continuously to Sarawak’s policy planning. — DayakDaily
