CM committed to state’s progress: Lo

KUCHING: The people must continue to stand behind our Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg as he is committed in making sure that development in our state is progressing well, said chairman of Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) Lo Khere Chiang who is also Batu Kitang assemblyman.

He added the oil and gas tax would contribute to the much needed fund to develop the state for the benefit of the people.

“I also believe that the chief minister is likely to increase the oil and gas tax in future and there is no harm for us to ask for more as it is our right as enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

“All we want is to be on par with Peninsular Malaysia in development such as having good highways, better roads and connectivity between the rural and urban areas to enable the people to improve their quality of life,” Lo said in his speech at the Smart Community Programme organised by MPP and Pusat Pembangunan Kemahiran Sarawak (PPKS) at Kampung Semeba Community Hall near here today.

Lo also stressed that in order for the people to uplift their living standard, education was the main key because it determined the people’s success as well as the nation’s.

Meanwhile, director of PPKS Hallman Sabri said the purpose of the event was to assist students and secondary school leavers to make informed decisions about academic pathways and career choices.

“Career choice is an important decision along life’s journey. Hence, we need to assist them with the relevant knowledge and skills to thrive in today’s challenging environment,” he said.

Hallman added that with the increasing importance of Industry 4.0 and the Digital Economy, today’s youths would need to equip themselves with a blend of technical and soft skills in order to thrive in today’s ever-vibrant global economy.

“With the support of the state government, the new PPKS Mukah Campus, which is scheduled to be completed in August this year, will be converted into a Smart Agriculture College in line with our Chief Minister’s vision to develop programmes in smart agriculture to increase our agriculture outputs, encourage our farmers to adopt sustainable agricultural practices and provide exciting career opportunities for our youths,” he said.

The event held today was participated by members of the teaching staff, course counsellors who offered face-to-face counselling services on the wide range of academic and skills programmes including financial assistance by PPKS.

Also present at the event were MPP secretary Elizabeth Loh, director of Konsortium Bumi Consultants Datuk Ir Janang Bunsu, a motivational speaker at the event and students of SMK Arang Road, SMK Batu Kawa and SMK Wira Penrissen.