SERIAN: Human Resources Minister, Serian MP Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem announced a financial grant of RM15,000 to Ex-Chung Hua School Serian Association.
The announcement was made during a recent ‘Minister Meets the People’ dinner held at Dewan Masyarakat Serian hosted by the association.
At the same time the minister called on Chinese parents to seriously consider sending their children for industrial training with any of the ILPs in the state both to help power the state towards attaining a high income economy and to be job market-competitive.
Riot said he was confident more Chinese voters will rally behind Barisan Nasional (BN) looking at the participation of the women members of the community in many political and social activities of late.
Riot noted with interest the involvement of a growing number of women in heading working committees and organising events in the Serian parliamentary constituency.
He said this was never the case in the past when very few Chinese women turned up at functions let alone organised them.
“Chinese women are heading working committees. Chinese women are organising major social and party-related functions, this to me is a happy development in the Chinese community in Serian,” he said at the event adding that the support for him during elections remained strong among Dayak voters because the women had been at the forefront of many social and political activities in the villages and longhouses.
He said because of this it was only right that he helped the various women movements in the Serian parliamentary seat.
He thanked the Chinese women for their courage in taking the “political bull by the horn and demanding to be counted as leaders of your community”.
Riot praised Chong Siew Khim, the organising chairperson, and her active group of women who had been at the forefront of several major events involving the Chinese community.
He reminded the Chinese community, the majority of whom reside in and around Serian town, they stand to benefit directly from all the major development programmes now taking place in the town.
He said because of that the Chinese community in Serian should be supportive of the BN government.
“Support the leadership of Yang Amat Berhormat Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Yang Amat Berhormat Ketua Menteri Sarawak Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg.
“Serian will be an economic hub. A new township, the state’s biggest cultural centre, an industrial training institute(ILP), and a light rail train connecting here and Kuching are among developments that will bring Serian to a new socio-economic level,” he said.
The MP said he was worried by the growing unemployability of university graduates whose qualifications did not match the needs of industries.
Also present at the dinner were political secretary to the Human Resources Minister Major (r) Datuk Peter Runin, Serian District Officer Lim Hock Meng and Pemanca Chai Min Lee.
