Liew (sixth left), flanked by Assistant Minister of Finance Tan Lee Fatt (on her left) and chairman of the Board of Directors of Kian Kok Middle School, Datuk Clement Yeh, with other guests and sponsors cutting a cake at the anniversary dinner.
KOTA KINABALU (April 28): The State Government has allocated RM23 million in financial aid to non-government schools, including Chinese independent secondary schools in Sabah in 2023.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor in disclosing this, said that out of this amount, a sum of RM4,035,000 in financial aid was allocated to nine Chinese independent secondary schools, including Kian Kok Secondary School which received RM565,000.
According to Hajiji,, the State Government also provides various incentives to ease the financial burden of Sabah students such as the ‘Biasiswa Pelajar Cemerlang Sabah’, ‘Biasiswa Pelajar Luar Bandar Cemerlang’, scholarships for public and private higher education institutions, as well as aid through the Sabah Foundation.
“The State Government will continue to provide financial assistance to schools and incentives to help Sabah students this year. With this continuous financial aid and support, it demonstrates the government’s recognition and commitment to the development of education in the state, as well as instilling confidence in schools to continue providing quality education to our children in Sabah,” he said.
Hajiji said this in his speech at the Kian Kok Secondary School 60th anniversary dinner on Saturday. His speech was read by Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew.
Hajiji said that Chinese secondary education in Sabah, characterized by integration and diversity, has become a refreshing stream in the Malaysian education system.
“It not only nurtures excellent talents in academics but also plays a positive role in promoting national and social development. We believe that Chinese secondary schools in Sabah will continue to make greater contributions to the field of education in Malaysia,” he said.
He noted that Chinese secondary schools in Sabah exhibit uniqueness in various aspects compared to those in Peninsular Malaysia.
According to him, Chinese secondary schools in Sabah adopt a dual-stream education concept, which not only focuses on the Ministry of Education curriculum to prepare students for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination but also encourages students to take the Senior Unified Examination Certificate (SUEC) examination.
He said this concept enables students to better cope with and adapt to the future world developments, besides building a solid foundation for their careers.
Hajiji also said that in terms of ethnic unity, Chinese secondary schools in Sabah also display distinct characteristics and have successfully attracted more non-Chinese students to receive Chinese education.
“The diverse demographic of students encourages the exchange and integration of multiculturalism, besides contributing to the unity and harmony of society.
“What is particularly noteworthy is the emphasis of Chinese secondary schools in Sabah on trilingual education. In addition to education in Chinese, the teaching of English and Malay languages is also emphasized. This approach not only gives Chinese secondary school students an advantage in language communication but also builds a better foundation for them to adapt to society,” he said.
In this regard, he said the arguments of extremist politicians that Chinese secondary schools cause division in society are unfounded; instead, through trilingual teaching, students are encouraged to respect and understand cultural and ethnic diversity, which contributes to the unity and harmony of society in the country.