PKS signs NoU with MUST and Lee Onn Group

Muhamad Rumzi (left) exchanging documents with Rajagopal witnessed by Mohlis (second left) and Effendi (second right) during a simple NoU signing ceremony at a hotel here. — Photo by Tan Song Wei.

KUCHING: Politeknik Kuching Sarawak (PKS) yesterday entered into tripartite agreements called Note of Understanding (NoU) with Malaysia University of Science and Technology (MUST) and local property developer Lee Onn Group.

For the NoU between PKS and MUST, both parties have agreed to form partnership in several areas.

Those areas of collaboration include among others to establish a student progression programme for Bachelor Degrees, development of research and publication, jointly organising conferences, seminars, workshops and forums and exchange and sharing of expertise and resources.

Besides that, the agreement also enables PKS to provide graduated students to study at MUST and other areas that might be mutually agreed by both parties.

MUST’s president Professor Dr Premkumar Rajagopal on the signing of the NoU with PKS said, “This is another milestone for us.

“MUST has embarked on a strategic partnership to make a breakthrough for polytecnic students.

“We carry the curriculum of Masssachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from the US.

“We want more graduates to be produced by MIT (in the future).

“(Besides that), we are in the midst of discussion with our board members to provide one year of hostel accommodation for free to polytecnic students from Sarawak,” he said in his speech before NoU signing between PKS and MUST and PKS and Lee Onn Group at a hotel here yesterday.

Earlier on, Ministry of Higher Education (Department of Polytecnic Education) director-general Datuk Mohlis Jaafar said, “The collaboration between PKS and MUST will help to train up more polytechnic students to be marketable and employable graduates as well as supplying more manpower to the job market.

“Currently, we have 35,000 graduates from polytechnic schools each year and contributed about 55 per cent in the field of technical vocational education and training (TVET) in the job market.

“Those (TVET) graduates play a major part in the labour force.

“We are targeting that 90 per cent of polytechnic students to be employable within six months after graduation.

“Additionally, we also aim for 70 per cent of the tutors or lecturers in polytechnic schools to have expertise in TVET in the future,” he pointed out.

On the collaboration between PKS and MUST, he said the Education Ministry is looking forward to forming more partnerships especially with the private sector.

“The partnership between PKS and MUST is a good form of Public-Private Partnership (PPP).

“We are exploring more (opportunities with industries) to collaborate with us.

“I hope that there will be more collaboration between public and private sectors towards sustainability in the future, he opined.

Meanwhile, among those presence to witness the NoU signings were MUST’s chairman Tan Sri Effendi Norwawi, PKS director Muhamad Rumzi Mamat, staff from PKS as well as representative from MUST and Lee Onn Group.

As for the NoU between PKS and Lee Onn Group, both parties have agreed to form collaboration in several areas.

Those areas include PKS assigning Lee Onn Group through LeOnn 805 Managament Sdn Bhd to construct a three-storey residence consisting 16 units at Matang Road for PKS’s off-campus accommodation, student exchange for industrial attachments on case by case basis and students entrepreneurship development programmes.

Lee Onn Group’s director Gee Tan in his speech said, “This setting up of an “off campus accommodation” is the first ever in our company history.

“This will not have materialised without the full co-operation and support from the management and staff of Politeknik Kuching.

“I would like to convey my greatest thanks to Tuan Haji Muhamad Rumzi and his team for all their guidance and assistance in one way or another to make this setting up of an “off campus accommodation for Politeknik students.

“I believe, with unity and commitment from all of us, we will put up a better growth and continued success,” he said.

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