SIBU – A new campus of the Centre for Technical Excellence Sarawak, or CENTEXS, will be built in the Dalat district near here, and is expected to be completed by October 2022, said Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.
He said the RM50 million centre would produce the skilled manpower required to meet the needs of Sarawak’s economic development in the future, apart from becoming the latest educational institution in the Mukah division, which already has a polytechnic and Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) campus.
“CENTEXS is the only technical education institution (in Sarawak) that can teach technology, especially physics and chemistry, which is very necessary for development,” he said when met by reporters after officiating Phase 2 of the Dalat Waterfront and Bazaarnita Fatima in Dalat, about 200km from here.
During his speech at the event, he said the centre was being built not only to meet the needs of the youths in Dalat and Mukah, but would also be open to other youths from within and outside Sarawak.
“They can learn new technologies, namely the downstream activities of the sago industry. Many downstream products are produced here,” he said, adding that state-owned company Craun Research Sdn Bhd was also conducting a study on the treatment of waste from the sago industry in the Mukah Division.
Abang Johari said so far, the study conducted at the company’s research centre in Kampung Teh, Mukah, found that the sago waste materials could be used to make biogas for cooking, which can then be channeled to houses in the village.
He said the study would be extended to the Dalat district, which is the main cultivation area of sago palms in Sarawak, and this could add value to the income of the farmers.
“The (Sarawak) government is also planning to set up a Sago Board to monitor and develop the sago industry in the state, including in Dalat,” he said.
According to him, Sarawak’s financial position will be strengthened by 2025 with an additional income of over RM3 billion a year from the collection of sales tax from oil and gas companies operating in Sarawak.
“Our (financial) position is solid, and now we can help our people (with) a budget of RM10 billion, of which 70% is allocated for rural areas in order to upgrade their electricity and water supply, roads and other infrastructure,” he added. – Bernama, December 19, 2020
