Sarawak CM pledges support for Chinese community

 

SIBU: Chinese independent schools will continue to receive state support and funding, says Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg (pic), in his Chinese New Year message on Wednesday (Feb 10).

The Chief Minister noted his Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) administration was inclusive and would continue to allocate annual funding to 14 private Chinese secondary schools throughout Sarawak.

"In the atmosphere of the Chinese New Year celebrations that had been celebrated for generations, other races should reflect for a moment on how the Chinese community is so concerned about education for their children. Wherever there is a Chinese settlement, there is also a school," he said.

Abang Johari said the existing Chinese private school education system, which also involves many non-Chinese students, should not be neglected as it contributed to the development of the state's human resources, especially in the context of the regional economy preceded by China's national economy.

"I had recently handed over a state grant of RM10mil for that purpose. Apart from that, the state government also provides assistance to Chinese primary schools where up to 60% of its students are Bumiputera," he said.

On a separate note, Abang Johari said he had planned to hold the state elections last year, but decided to postpone it.

Abang Johari said he had to take into consideration the health and well-being of the people due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He also said the state cannot be complacent or make mistakes as the current spike in cases, particularly the Pasai Cluster in Sibu, had showed a single case could cause thousands of others to be infected.

The cluster now had infected six generations since the first case was reported on Jan 9.

The cluster was first detected on Jan 8 with 37 cases. The number of positive cases now stood at 2,363 from 25,500 screenings carried out so far.

The government, he said, had spent RM3bil so far to ease the burden of the public and business community. - Star