Abang Johari (fifth left) presents the Chief Minister’s Award trophy to SMK Sri Sadong led by team leader Siti Nur’arifah Arif as others including (from left) Rasidah, Sudarsono, Ku Halim and Manyin look on.
KUCHING: The future of Sarawak will be better assured if the younger generations go through an education system which encourages them to be creative.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said this when opening the inaugural Sarawak Invention, Innovation and Design Expo (SIIDEx) 2018 yesterday.
“What type of students do we want to produce? If students have no self confidence, they become ‘lembik’ (weak). When they become ‘lembik’, the country is also ‘lembik’.
“But if a student is very creative and willing to accept challenges, our future is guaranteed,” he said.
He made the remarks after explaining why the state came up with its own education ministry called Education, Science and Technological Research Ministry and the appointment of its first minister in charge of education.
He pointed out that it is now the era of Industrial Revolution 4.0 which is based on technology, and the need for Sarawak to embrace technology and to create machines that are able to optimise the state’s resources.
“Manuals are in English. If you are not fluent in English, you cannot read the manual on how to operate the drone. This means our students must be able to master English. STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematic) is also important.
“We have to have very aggressive policy on our education. That is why we initiated and formed this ministry. In the long run, our economic development would depend on the standard that we have and the command of technology,” he said.
He also mentioned that because of this need to embrace new technology, the State Cabinet after he became Chief Minister last year felt there was no option other than going for digital economy.
“Sarawak government is now trying to re-innovate. We want to extract hydrogen from water. Through electrolysis, we get the component of hydrogen out, and that hydrogen will become green energy.
According to scientists, hydrogen can substitute nuclear energy, and we have a lot of water from where we can extract the hydrogen and export it.
“Sarawak government under my leadership is going to do that. That is why we set up LRT (light rail transit) based on hydrogen. Maybe we are among the first few in the world using hydrogen on LRT,” he said.
On SIIDEx 2018, he said it is a platform for ‘young scientists’ to come up with innovations and technologies, and to encourage disruptive thinking among the younger generation so that their minds are critical and able to create new things. He commended the Education, Science and Technological Research Ministry and UiTM Sarawak for organising the event, and was pleased to be informed by the chief judge Professor Dr Ku Halim Ku Halim that the quality of entrees was the same as the national level.
A total of 153 products in four different categories competed in SIDEx 2018 – 49 from secondary schools under Category A, 25 under Category B involving students from institutions of higher learning, 28 under Category C from academicians, researchers and postgraduate students and 51 under Category D which focuses on innovative tools and aid to facilitate teaching and learning in the classroom.
Also present were Minister of Education, Science and Technological Research Dato Sri Michael Manyin Jawong, State Secretary Tan Sri Datuk Amar Morshidi Abdul Ghani, Assistant Minister of Education and Technological Research Dr Annuar Rapaee, the ministry’s permanent secretary Datu Sudarsono Osman and UiTM Sarawak acting rector Associate Professor Dr Rasidah Mahdi.