LABUAN: Labuan member of parliament Datuk Rozman Isli said he had tabled the issue of non-bumiputera students’ entrance at Labuan Matriculation College (KML) in parliament in order to get more student enrolments, especially among the local non-bumiputera students.
After witnessing the installation of the Labuan Chinese Chamber of Commerce (LCCC) committees at SJK(C) Chi Wen Hall on Thursday, he said a similar issue was raised by the non-bumiputera component parties within Barisan Nasional coalition and also among the opposition.
“I think I am the only Umno leader who raised the issue of non-bumiputera students’ entrance policy for matriculation at KML in parliament. When I brought up the issue, the rest of the Umno leaders looked at me.
“Now, some percentage has been opened for non-bumiputera students at matriculation level and there is a chance to get the percentage higher in the future,” he said, adding that he wanted Labuan to be an education hub in the near future by setting up an international university.
Rozman added that it would be exciting to see more international students pursuing their studies in Labuan.
“At Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Labuan International Campus (UMS-KAL) alone, we have more than 100 foreign students from China. I envision that if we set up an international university here, we could expect around 20,000 foreign students coming to study here,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rozman congratulated LCCC for successfully forming their new committees and praised them for the culture displayed within LCCC which showed the quality of loyalty to the association and also to the country.
He thanked LCCC for being active in attracting foreign investors from outside including recently from Hong Kong to invest in Labuan.
“It is indeed a big contribution to Labuan’s economic development where it will also open more job opportunities for the locals,” he said.
Meanwhile, the president of LCCC Datuk Wong Kii Yii who retained his presidency said the relationship between LCCC and the Sabah United Chinese Chamber of Commerce (SUCCC) must be enhanced from time to time, while having good relationship with the government to help the Chinese community.
Also present was the president of SUCCC, Datuk Seri Panglima Gan Sau Wah.