Treadell (second left) receiving a souvenir from Len after the conclusion of the information session on Chevening Scholarship at Sarawak Foundation’s auditorium yesterday. Also seen are Sarawak Foundation director Datu Abu Bakar Marzuki (right) and board member Dato Sri Empiang Jabu (left). — Photo by Muhammad Rais Sanusi
KUCHING: The British High Commission in Malaysia has given its assurance to be more proactive and work closely with the Sarawak government as a move to further spur the state’s socio-economic and human capital development.
British High Commissioner in Malaysia Her Excellency Victoria Marguerite Treadell who is currently in the state for a week-long working visit, revealed yesterday that the commission would engage and reach out to almost every level of society to gauge the needs of Sarawakians.
Besides the official meeting with state leaders, she said her team hoped to understand the priorities of Sarawakians such as how they perceive economic development, education institutions and environmental concerns.
“These are the new approaches that will be taken by the commission. From here, we can see how Britain can be a partner or how the United Kingdom can help to develop solutions for Sarawak through the sharing of expertise,” said Treadell during an information session on Chevening Scholarship which is the UK’s global flagship programme at the Sarawak Foundation’s auditorium.
Among the viable areas that she mentioned was how Sarawak could further develop the tourism industry to drive its economy or take advantage of the undiscovered resources in the primary rainforest to be developed as healthcare products or medicines from the wild flora and fauna.
She also said the delegates would participate in today’s Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) convention and travel to other regions of the state until Friday.
On another note, Treadell was sad to note that none of the 52 Malaysian students pursuing their studies under the Chevening Scholarship in the UK were Sarawakians.
Meanwhile, Minister of Women, Welfare and Family Development Datuk Fatimah Abdullah hoped the British Commission would work closely with Sarawak Foundation to further promote the Chevening Scholarship programme in the state.
“In this respect, it is my concern and suggest that the commission work closely with Sarawak Foundation so that students who are under the programme will pursue courses which are needed by our state government,” said Fatimah whose text of speech was read by Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Promotion of Technical Education) Datu Len Taliff Salleh.
She suggested both parties to set up a working committee to formalise the idea before any offer can be made for Sarawakian scholars to further their studies under the Chevening Scholarship in the UK.
She mentioned that among the challenges in bringing development in Sarawak was the fact that more than 50 per cent of the state’s population lived in the rural areas.
Despite that, she said in the past 50 years the state and federal governments had made efforts to bring progress to the rural areas, which had shown tremendous success.
“Education has been seen as one of the key factors which contribute to progress besides providing them with basic needs such as road, clean water, electricity and other physical infrastructure,” she added.
She further said the number of students gaining tertiary education had been on the increase every year through educational assistance provided by various agencies such as Sarawak Foundation.
“Besides that, the state government is also actively involved in setting up its own institution or partnership with others to give more opportunities for Sarawakians to gain access to education. This initiative will continue to be our main focus as our government is embarking to develop the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) which will provide job opportunities to our people,” she added.