SIBU: Since its launching, Sarawak-China Joint Talent Development Programme has received strong support from many high-quality universities in China, providing Sarawak students with study-abroad places in China and various living benefits.
Stating this, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said as of May 2024, the programme had processed the study-abroad applications of 25 students from Sarawak, including 11 from Sibu and three from Bintulu.
“These students have successfully gone to China for further studies and received corresponding scholarship support, including four years of tuition and accommodation fees, as well as monthly living allowances, etc.
“We will build a well-connected education channel, cultivate more talents and jointly promote exchanges and mutual learning between Malaysia and China in the field of higher education and promote mutual understanding between the people, and then push the educational cooperation between Malaysia and China to another peak,” he said at the Sarawak -China Education Partnership and Exchange Welcome dinner held at a leading hotel here on Wednesday (Mar 5).
Tiong was represented by his press secretary, Ross Sia Wan Teng who delivered his speech.
The event was attended by delegations from 10 top universities in China and principals/representatives of 19 secondary schools of various streams from Sibu district.
The Bintulu Member of Parliament urged the principals or representatives to seize the rare opportunity to actively communicate and connect with the Chinese universities representatives, share higher education resources and open up a door to international life for Sarawak students.
He said the Special Committee on Higher Education established by the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) launched the programme between Sarawak and China in 2021, aiming to introduce more high-quality educational resources to Sarawak while sending more potential Sarawak students to study abroad to broaden their horizons and learn the most up-to-date professional knowledge and advanced technologies.
“As the programme enters its fifth year, we hope to increase our efforts to invite more Chinese universities and Sarawak secondary schools to join us so that the seeds of education can continue to sprout and grow. We hope that more Chinese universities will join hands with us to send more Sarawak students to study in China.
“I hope that the Chinese universities present here can work together with the relevant units in Sarawak to invest resources to provide on-the-job training for existing practitioners in various industries so as to further enhance Sarawak’s competitiveness in the new era.
On tourism, Tiong hoped the delegations could provide strategic solutions to promote the growth of the tourism industry.
Stating that 2026 was the “Malaysia Tourism Year”, he said Malaysia’s tourism industry fully recovered last year, thanks to the increase number of international tourists returning after the COVID-19, and even the number of tourists from many markets, including China, had successfully surpassed the pre-epidemic level.
“Although this result is encouraging, it is still far from my ideal goal. Therefore, I hope that individual universities can provide my office and department with professional suggestions on the development of Malaysia’s tourism industry, in terms of market promotions, tourist attractions, product creations or cultural tourism,” added Tiong, who is also Dudong assembyman.
