Perak govt to help commercialise innovative projects, says MB

IPOH: The Perak state government will consider helping out winning innovators commercialise their projects, says Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad.

He said a discussion will be held to see if there are any innovations that can be used to generate more income for the state.

“To commercialise the winning innovations, the design needs to be upgraded and the patent registered first,” said Saarani

“From there, we can discuss the possibilities of having one of our government-linked companies to help with the business side,” he told reporters after attending the Perak Innovation Day celebration at the state secretariat building here on Wednesday (Nov 1).

During the event, winners from 13 categories, including four new categories, were awarded with trophies and cash prizes.

The Mineral and Geoscience Department’s Mineral research centre won the Mentri Besar Innovation award where they received RM50,000 cash prize and trophy.

SJKC Chung Sin in Muallim won first place under the primary school category while SMK Raja Perempuan Kelsom, Kuala Kangsar, bagged the first place for secondary school category.

Both schools won a trophy and RM5,000 respectively.

Separately, Saarani said the state government will not interfere with matters under the Education Ministry.

He was earlier asked if Perak would consider introducing an assessment similar to the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR).

“I believe the ministry has done a comprehensive study on the impact of abolishing the UPSR and other exams. The state government will leave it to the ministry to decide as the matter falls under their jurisdiction,” he said.

Earlier, a portal reported that Sarawak plans to set up its own assessment for Year Six pupils, which is similar to the UPSR.

The Education Ministry abolished the UPSR in 2021.