DREAM SETS SAIL: Wong (centre) and his wife marvel at the finished interior of University College of Technology Sarawak. Hakim is at left.
THE TORCH BEARERS: Wong (seventh left) and his wife with Hakim in a group photograph and the first batch of students and staff of UCTS.
SIBU: The dream to have a university in Sibu sets sail as Second Finance Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh walked into University College of Technology Sarawak (UCTS) yesterday morning to be with the first batch of students in their orientation week.
Nearly 70 students are registered in the batch, and within the next few years, the student population is expected to reach 500 and beyond, making Sibu a city of fine education in a green campus built with a technology research park.
The house of fine education will also be an additional choice for children of Sarawak to have their higher education without having to go abroad. For children of the Rajang Basin, it is a university right at their door step.
In the orientation yesterday, Wong and his wife Pauline Leong sat in the lecture hall with the students bathed in pride and joy.
Wong told the students: “You are the pioneer students under this roof to achieve good results of your life. You are the first torch bearers of this university. Set a fine example.”
He added that the university college was a dream of Sibu and the state government.
“The university has already set a milestone as being the first university in Malaysia to be awarded the Green Building Index platinum based on its green innovation.”
He said even Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was amazed when he visited the site recently; he said Najib had even wished for a UCTS in Peninsular Malaysia too.
Wong said if he were to go back to school, he would choose UCTS as his first choice of university for its innovation, vision and commitment.
He also expressed faith in the university’s leadership under vice-chancellor and CEO Datuk Dr Prof Hakim Juri.
He said to build a world-class university it needed the efforts of all, including the lecturers, the administrators, the students, the parents and even the townsfolk.
He said the university college would invite Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud to witness this landmark achievement soon, as this was the brainchild of Sarawak Government.
Later, they would invite Najib to open it.
Wong was pleased that UCTS had already attracted the interest of the locals, as many NGOs and other organisations had wanted to visit the university.
He said when the time was right they would open the door for them to promote goodwill between the community and UCTS.
As the dream in building the university sets sail, Wong yesterday said he was already looking to the next challenge – to make UCTS a world-class university and when he and his wife retired, they would like to promote the university overseas.
University College of Technology Sarawak sits on a 90-acre plot next to Laila Taib College.
Wong said the university would put Sibu on a high pedestal as being the only university in Malaysia with a technology research park that would come at a later development.