A BROADER KNOWLEDGE BASE

By : OXFORD BUSINESS GROUP

OBG talks to Wong Khen Thau, C.E.O Asian Tourism International College

OBG : What impact has the liberalisation process had on the education sector in Sabah?

WONG : Sabah's education system was only opened up 15 years ago. Before that, just a very small number of private institutions existed, but they were not recognised by the state. Since then there has been rapid development in the sector, with a lot of small colleges being established in Sabah.

At present there is an education belt. spearheaded by the university, being established in the outskirts of Kota Kinabalu. This has been a natural development whereby new colleges and schools have looked for available land located lose to the urban population and they have found that there is an additional advantage of being close to the university.

The state government, on the other hand, is trying to create an education centre in Sandakan. The reasons for this have more to do with the needs of the area than with the goal of benefitting the sector: The population in Sandakan isn’t as big as that of Kota Kinabalu, so neither the education market nor the sector in Sandakan can be as big as those of Kota Kinabalu. It is also more realistic to expect students to want to study in the capital, the biggest urban area.

OBG : To what extent does the high rate of unemployment in Sabah reflect a lack of a suitable set of skills among fresh graduates?

WONG: The official figures for Sabah show a high unemployment rate, but the real rate should be 0%, and it could be 0% as there are plenty of jobs available to Sabahans. The problem is that the locals are very picky about accepting jobs and think that some are beneath them. In the interior there are many people living a self-sufficient subsistence lifestyle. So they are not interested in finding a job.

There is also a lack of information regarding jobs outside the urban areas, which means that many who want to join the work-force don’t know how to. But the high unemployment and poverty rates are misleading and not a fair reflection of real rates, The Ministry of Labour has recently shown that while there are almost 200,000jobs available there are only 3000 registered applicants.

Both the construction and tourism industries are always crying out for workers. The construction industry not only has to employ foreigners a practice which is discouraged by the government and which has led to heavy levies placed on construction companies - but they also have to risk employing illegal workers. At the same time there is a problem with the professionalism of Sabahans when they take up positions in the workforce here. The irony is that Sabahans who work in Kuala Lumpur or abroad are known to be very good workers and have an excellent reputation. It is clearly an issue of attitude and motivation.

OBG : How pronounced is the issue of a brain drain in Sabah compared to other regions?

WONG : While brain drain does effect Sabah, with many young people choosing to continue their education at universities in West Malaysia, Singapore and further afield in Europe and North America, there are still more than enough people to cover these losses who choose to stay in Sabah. Another common trend we see is that Sabahans that do leave the state for further education or career opportunities in their youth decide to come back to Sabah when they plan to settle down and raise a family Simply put, this is because of the amazing standard of living we enjoy in Sabah, which isn't connected to personal wealth.

An issue that is rarely discussed is the potential for brain gain in Sabah, The attitude of Malaysians and Sabahans in particular is very negative towards migrant workers from the poorer areas of the region. This is ridiculous, as they are taking the jobs that the locals do not want. They also bring with them new skills that we do not have at present. The government should be encouraging them. not discouraging them. There needs to be an institutional attitude change that sees foreign workers as an asset rather than a problem.