KOTA KINABALU - The Sabah government has allocated RM101 million in scholarships for Sabah students pursuing their studies in public universities (UA) and institutions of higher learning (IPT), this year, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
He said the allocation would benefit a total of 4,638 Sabah students to further their studies at home and abroad and that the scholarship programme was important for the state's future development.
He added that there was an increase in total scholarship allocation this year, compared with RM55 million last year, showing that the state government is focusing mainly on the development of human capital in Sabah.
"Education is one of the cores of the Halatuju Sabah Maju Jaya vision, which is the development of human capital, so this is the key for us to progress in the future...we need the energy of our people who are smart and skilled in all fields for Sabah,” he told reporters here today.
"That is why we are increasing the sponsorship allocation for our children to study this year. This effort should be continued, as it is our priority towards building a generation which will be successful one day.
Earlier Hajiji presented the Sabah Public Services Department's Sabah excellent scholarships to 10 recipients, at Menara Kinabalu here. Also present was Sabah Public Services Department director-general, Datuk Zainudin Aman.
Meanwhile, when asked about Budget 2024, which is scheduled to be tabled on Oct 13, Hajiji said that the state is confident that there will be an additional allocation for Sabah, for the state's development and expenditure purposes.
Meanwhile, Arnie Jaliusih, 20, one of the scholarship recipients, said that the lack of telecommunications and internet access is one of the biggest challenges she faced in her efforts to do well in her Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM), however, these never discouraged her.
"Today we need the internet for our studies, among others to submit our work assignments, and there are other challenges as well. I hope to do well in the future and be an inspiration to other Sabah children,” said Arnie, who aspires to be a teacher.
Arnie, a former student of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tun Fuad Stephens, Kiulu, was among the outstanding students in the STPM 2022 in Sabah, scoring a perfect 4.0 in the cumulative grade point average (CGPA).
Tomorrow, Arnie, who is of the Dusun ethnic group, will register for her Bachelor of Social Science with Honours (Geography) studies, at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), here. - BERNAMA