KUCHING: Sarawakian students in West Asia must be evacuated if the situation in those countries escalate further.
Sarawak Premier, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Tun Datuk Abang Openg said the decision on this matter will depend on advice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as the views of the Ministry of Higher Education.
According to him, most of the students from Sarawak are in Jordan and Egypt, specifically Alexandria University for medical students and Al-Azhar University for religious studies.
"We are waiting for advice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs whether the situation is dangerous or not, and if the ministry together with the Ministry of Higher Education opine that our students who are in the Middle East should be taken out, then we will follow the instructions," he said.
He said this when met by the media after visiting the Aidilfitri Open House organised by Dato Sri Mohd Naroden Majais here, on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Datuk Patinggi Abang Zohari also announced that the Sarawak Government is working on a new collaboration with the Federal government in the medical, healthcare and education sectors.
According to him, a reimbursement mechanism from the Federal government is being finalised to enable this cooperation to happen.
The Sarawak Premier hopes that this collaboration will be ready by the end of the year, adding that he has had an informal discussion with the Deputy Minister of Health, Dato Lukanisman Awang Sauni on Monday.
"Yesterday I had an informal discussion with the Deputy Minister of Health, and they now have a committee to draw up a mechanism by which we will rebuild clinics.
"If the stairs are bad, the floor is not made, so I say, knock it all down and build a new one. We pay the allocation first, then the Federal government pays us back," he said.
Commenting on Singapore's new leader, Datuk Patinggi Abang Zohari informed that the Sarawak government welcomes the matter and believes that the cooperation between Singapore and Malaysia, especially Singapore and Sarawak, will continue smoothly.
He emphasised the need for cooperation in the field of energy and trade between the two sides.
Also present were Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier's Department (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations), Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali, Member of Parliament for Batang Sadong, Rodiyah Sapiee, and other guests. -UKASnews
