200,000 jobs in plantation sector – CM

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SANDAKAN: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Hj Aman said the plantation industry in the state has approximately 200,000 existing vacancies and attributed them to the lack of interest among youths to work in plantations.

He also made an urging for plantation owners to provide amenities for a conducive environment to attract youths to be involved in the industry.

“I urge plantation owners to provide them with a conducive environment such as quarters, sports facilities and halls where the youth can conduct their daily activities.

“We have done this in plantations owned by Yayasan Sabah and Sawit Kinabalu. We hope that we can set an example for other plantations in Sabah,” said Musa to reporters after officiating the Barisan Nasional (BN) Youth Job Fair at the Harbour Mall yesterday.

Musa described the fair as an excellent effort by the BN Youth to provide opportunities for youth to find jobs.

Meanwhile, National UMNO Youth exco Nazir Hussin Akhtar Hussin said at least 40 companies took part in the fair yesterday which is conducted in seven locations nationwide.

According to Nazir, last year one million visitors attended the fair and 30,000 out of 100,000 vacancies were filled with seventy-seven Sabahans chosen to fill in positions in Petronas.

He also expressed support for upgrading the Petronas Training Centre in Kimanis into a full-fledged institute.

“We want the training centre in Kimanis to be upgraded into a Petronas Technological Institute (Intep) similar to the one in Terengganu to provide more opportunities for youth to go into the oil and gas industry,” said Nazir.