KUCHING, March 10: Students and youngsters are encouraged to pursue their dream by being willing to take calculated risks and venturing out of their comfort zones.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said to fulfil one’s dream, one has to be able to get out of his or her comfort zone and embrace changes, otherwise one would be left behind.
“Innovation also entails creativity. Innovate means to make changes. To change you have to have the ecosystem and knowledge to be able to make those changes.
“These innovations are something you dream of. When you dream, that is the incentive for you to find ways and means to achieve that dream. If you don’t change you will be left behind,” he said in his speech during the launching ceremony of Sarawak Career and Training (SCaT) Fair 2018 at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) this morning.
To demonstrate success, he cited an example from China where a bullet train is capable of reaching a top speed of about 300km/h while a conventional train has a top speed of about 80km/h.
Abang Johari said logically the bullet train would reach its destination faster than the conventional train because it has better technology incorporated into it to reach such high speeds.
“So which train would you want to board to reach your destination faster? Similarly, you have to get out of your comfort zone and take calculated risks to achieve your dreams faster.
“This is also called disruptive thinking, where to move forward you have no choice but to make unconventional efforts and abandon your comfort zone.
“Because if you don’t, you will be left behind further. That is what I want Sarawak to do — to take the bullet train in order to achieve Industry 4.0 as soon as possible by taking calculated risks,” he said.
Abang Johari also cited another example, where conventional taxi service providers have to leave their comfort zone if they want to provide services as good as Grab or Uber.
“Like the train I mentioned earlier, the slower train cannot tell the bullet train to slow down to match its speed. Same like our conventional taxis, they cannot tell Uber or Grab to stop — they are the way (standard) now. You cannot get rid of them, they are already here.
“Therefore you (conventional taxis) have to embrace technology and board the bullet train, and be creative and innovative to be able to compete with Grab and Uber,” he said.
Among the “calculated risks” he had implemented for the state to achieve Industry 4.0 was to establish the Digital Economy and high speed Internet initiatives, and the setting up of the Development Bank of Sarawak (DBOS) and Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros), which could further enhance the state’s economy and enable it to become a developed and high income state by the year 2030.
On that note, Abang Johari hoped that by holding the SCaT Fair every year, it would not only provide students and graduates in the state with education and job opportunities, but also expose the youngsters to the many technologically advanced fields available in the market which they can take up, so they can be the driving force for the state to achieve its aspirations by 2030.
Meanwhile, Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Bumiputera Sarawak (Tegas) chairman Datu Len Talif Salleh said the SCaT Fair 2018 did not only have booths featuring education and job opportunities and higher learning financing institutions set up, but with the joint efforts of several private and public sector players, the fair also had a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Playground set up.
He said with this playground, students and youngsters may participate hands-on and gain more knowledge about the various fields related to STEM in a fun way.
“These private and public sector players have set up stations with interesting activities respectively to attract schooling youngsters. Among them are operation of drones, robots, data analytics, computer programming, 3D hologram technology, 3D printing and other lab activities.
“I hope that with this hands-on exposure, it would inculcate interest among the youngsters as well as foster encouragement from their parents on these fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” said Len, who is also Assistant Minister of Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment.
He also revealed that a total of 70 education and training institutions, 60 private companies with over 5,500 job opportunities, and nine financial institutions and agencies offering education funds participated in this year’s SCaT Fair. — DayakDaily
