Warisan rep proposes ‘Borneo Education System’ for Sabah, Sarawak

KOTA KINABALU: A Parti Warisan representative has proposed that a “Borneo Education System” be introduced for Sabah and Sarawak to strengthen education in the two states.

Tungku assemblyman Assafal P Alian urged the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS)-led state government to discuss the matter with their Sarawakian counterparts led by Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).

As founding members of the federation of Malaysia, Assafal said Sabah and Sarawak should be given the right to shape the education system in the country.

The idea, he pointed out, was not to break away from the federal Education Ministry but to assert Sabah’s and Sarawak’s position as the founding partners of the federation.

He said this was also to ensure the huge annual budget allocations worth billions of ringgit for the Education Ministry will be spent for the purpose of achieving the aspirations and current and future needs of both states.

“But Sabah and Sarawak must firstly reach their consensus on this matter and thereafter, present their case as a united front to the Federal Government,” he said in a statement here on Friday (Nov 3).

Assafal said the proposal by the Sarawak government to create their own state assessment examination similar to the now abolished Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) was good.

“This is because unlike schoolchildren in Peninsular Malaysia who can spend more time for extra-curriculum activities due to their superior academic environment, our schoolchildren in the rural areas are not so lucky and lagging behind academically due to poverty, logistical challenges, insufficient teaching equipment and poor facilities.

“I believe intermittent assessments, similar to UPSR and PT3 examination (for Form Three students abolished in 2022), are required in Sabah,” he said.

Assafal said this would enable schools in Sabah to continuously evaluate the performance of their students and make the necessary intervention or assistance before they sit for their final Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) exams.