PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said yesterday the Sarawak government has agreed to set up the Indonesian School in the state, similar to the facility already established in Sabah.
The school would cater to the educational needs of the children Indonesian migrant workers in the state, he said. Sabah has 50 such schools.
“We agreed that schools be set up for the children of migrant workers from Indonesia. The Sarawak government has agreed to establish such schools.
“As such, as advocated by UNESCO, the right to education is a universal right that cannot be denied,” he told a joint news conference attended also by visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo, at the Perdana Putra building here. Najib and Joko, who is on a three-day state visit to Malaysia from yesterday, earlier held a four-eyed meeting followed by a delegation meeting at the federal government administrative complex.
Meanwhile, Joko welcomed the Malaysian initiative to also set up the Indonesian School in Sarawak.
“This matter will be pursued immediately for the sake of the children’s education,” he said.
The Indonesian School initiative was mooted to provide for the education of the children of Indonesian migrant workers to shape quality human capital.
It was born out of a meeting between former Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Jan 11, 2008.
The Kota Kinabalu Indonesian School was the first such school in the country, set up on Dec 1, 2008. — Bernama