By Ling Hui & Karen Bong
BINTULU, Nov 1: The Sarawak government welcomes PETRONAS to set up a Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) branch campus in the State.
Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said that there is land available should UTP decide to expand to Sarawak.
“I want to thank PETRONAS for building MRSM Bintulu and Yayasan Sarawak for providing the land for this development.
“If there is a need for further expansion (of MRSM Bintulu), there are still land behind this facility, Tan Sri (Mohd Bakke Salleh who is PETRONAS chairman).
“If PETRONAS wants to set up its university in Bintulu, anytime. There is land for you,” Abang Johari said, when speaking at the handing over and launching of the new RM122 million Mara Junior Science College (MRSM) Bintulu campus here today.
In a press conference after the event, Abang Johari said that Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) has a campus in Bintulu where it is now collaborating with the Sarawak government to implement three-season large-scale paddy cultivation in Sarawak’s endeavour to become a major rice producer in Malaysia.
He believes that the setting up of more campuses or institutions will open up opportunities for students to gain practical experience, especially in Bintulu which is a growing industrial hub, as well as the oil and gas sector in Sarawak.
“Whether it is a college or campus, PETRONAS can work together with us to provide further training in different fields. MRSM leavers and university graduates needd training in specialised skills such as in the carbon sector as fresh graduates are not necessarily experts,” he elaborated.
PETRONAS chairman Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh expressed willingness to study the proposal to set up a branch campus in Sarawak.
“It’s a good proposal but there are implications that we need to take into account, so we have to look into all aspects,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the new MRSM Bintulu, developed through a collaborative effort between PETRONAS, the Sarawak government and Yayasan Sarawak, at a cost of RM122 million is set to commence operation in March 2024.
During the ceremony, the campus was handed over to Yayasan Sarawak which then handed it over to Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) which will be managing the institution’s administration and teaching.
Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian, Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar, Minister of Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah, Minister of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development Dato Sri Stephen Rundi Utom, and Federal Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Rubiah Wang were among those present. — DayakDaily
