THE formation of Malaysia in 1963 was a historical event in Southeast Asia.
The formation was considered controversial at the time, as neighbouring countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia strongly opposed the union.
Nevertheless, with much deliberation and diplomatic negotiations, the Borneo states and the Federation of Malaya successfully came together to form our nation.
I believe that the decision by our forefathers and the support given by the rakyat to form this union was remarkable.
Since then, there have been notable achievements in Malaysia. Within 59 years, our nation has transformed from an agrarian-based economy into an industrial-based economy. Today, Malaysia sits proudly as one of the top largest economies in the world.
Since the New Economic Policy was introduced in 1970, the government has been constantly striving to invest in human capital development through education.
It has always been apparent that for a nation to advance, there must be sufficient investments in building and crafting the knowledge and skills of our future generation.
Under the Ninth Schedule to the Federal Constitution, our Federal Government is responsible for various roles and responsibilities. One of which is education.
Therefore, the Higher Education and the Education ministries receive a substantial amount of the nation's annual budget.
In efforts to navigate the nation post-pandemic, the higher education sector was allocated RM14.5 billion last year. This amount has been put towards the Digitalisation of Education agenda, reskilling and upskilling programmes, infrastructure for higher education institutions (HEIs) in all states, and more.
Sabah is one of the richest states in Malaysia in terms of resources. It is an economic powerhouse thanks to its petroleum, palm oil, timber, and agricultural produce.
Nevertheless, merely hosting resources is not enough. We need to heed the call for human capital development through higher education.
To this end, one of the first few HEIs established in Sabah was Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), formerly known as Institute Teknologi MARA (iTM) in 1973. It was also the first branch campus of UiTM.
In 1974, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) established its temporary campus in Sabah, and 20 years later, in 1994, our state university, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) was established.
Today, there is no shortage of HEIs, including polytechnics and vocational institutions in the state.
The role of HEIs in Sabah is instrumental in providing access to higher education to the rakyat in general, and to Sabahans more specifically. In turn, this helps them to gain the necessary knowledge and skills that facilitate their employment.
HEIs in Sabah offer courses that are akin to those in other states such as engineering, science, agrotechnology, medicine, accounting, computer science, creative arts, social
sciences, etc.
As of date, Sabah is home to 337,500 people in the labour force with tertiary education. Of the total, 54.1 per cent are women and 45.9 per cent are men.
Quoting the Higher Education Minister , Datuk Seri Dr. Noraini Ahmad, "higher level of education among women reflects rising economic growth in Malaysia".
This is wonderful news for Malaysia as a whole, and Sabah in particular as we are doing well in achieving the 4th United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of Quality Education and SDG 5 of Gender Equality.
These achievements do not mean that it is time for us to become complacent. There is more we need to do, beginning with the Sabah Human Capital Blueprint 2021-2035 which shows the future demand for human capital in the state.
The blueprint is in line with the widely-known Sabah Maju Jaya plan which aims to produce more graduates who will contribute to the job market.
The configuration of the blueprint is based on deliberations with various stakeholders including HEIs. In general, there is a need to expand efforts in the agriculture and food industries, smart farming, creative industries, and oil and gas industries, among others.
These needs have been duly noted by HEIs that are currently working very hard to ensure all the required courses and future needs of the state are met.
As an educator based in Sabah, I can say that we have made much progress in terms of the higher education we provide to our rakyat.
However, we need to constantly put in the effort to make more advancements. My wish for the future is for us to work hand in hand to build a brighter future for our Keluarga Malaysia. Selamat Hari Malaysia 2022!
The writer, Dr Firdausi Suffian is a guest writer for the Higher Education Ministry and is the Deputy Rector of Universiti Teknologi Mara Sabah's Academic Affairs Division.