SANDAKAN: The Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for Sungai Sibuga, Datuk Suhaimi Nasir, has pledged to prioritise the establishment of a Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) campus at the Sandakan Education Hub if given the mandate in the 17th Sabah State Election.
Suhaimi, who is also the Information Chief of UMNO Sabah, stated that this ambition is not merely a political promise but a data-driven development strategy based on rationality and the needs of Sandakan.
“Regions lacking educational institutions are regions without a future. With UniKL in Sandakan, we are building a future that surpasses our individual selves,” he expressed in a statement on Wednesday.
The Sungai Sibuga State Constituency is one of three state assemblies within the Libaran parliamentary constituency, which borders the Sandakan parliamentary area. Suhaimi, who is also the Member of Parliament for Libaran, emphasized that it is no longer the time to wait for external development but to proactively steer the educational and regional transformation agenda.
He mentioned that his proposal has also been recognized as a correct step by the Chairman of the People’s Trust Council (MARA), Datuk Dr. Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, who supported the proposal during a friendly gathering with leaders at the People’s Housing Project (PPR) Taman Murni in Sandakan yesterday.
“MARA’s willingness to consider this proposal sends a clear signal that Sandakan is on a strategic path to becoming a center of academic excellence and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) for East Sabah,” he stated.
Suhaimi added that this proposal aligns with Malaysia MADANI’s aspiration to strengthen national TVET, and UniKL, as a MARA institution with an international reputation, is seen as having the potential to become a reference center for technical and professional education in Borneo.
Source – UMNO Online
