Hajiji lauds PETRONAS for green energy, human capital initiatives

Hajiji (centre) witnessing the exchange of documents between Mohamed Ibrahim (second left) and Dr Rafiq (third right).

KOTA KINABALU: National oil company PETRONAS has come in for praise from Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor for its green energy and human capital development initiatives.

The Chief Minister said these efforts would complement Sabah’s priority in these sectors.

He had earlier witnessed the presentation of the PETRONAS-Academia Collaboration Dialogue (PACD) Awards and the signing of a memorandum of agreement between Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) and University College Sabah Foundation (UCSF), the sole state-owned institution of higher learning, at Menara Kinabalu here on Thursday (Feb 8).

Seven researchers from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) were awarded a RM5.75mil grant under the PACD to carry out research in green energy-related fields such as clean energy storage systems, bio-energy development, efficient hydrogen generation, as well as in operational efficiency through data science and artificial intelligence.

Hajiji said this would benefit Sabah’s quest to explore and promote sustainable solutions in energy-related fields that align with global sustainability goals.

“This is where industries are moving towards globally, and the Sabah government wants to ensure this is also adopted locally,” he said.

Researchers Assoc Prof Dr Mailin Misson, Dr Mohd Azlan Ismail, Dr Zarina Amin, Dr Ng Chi Huey, Dr Nazrien Adrian Amaludin, Dr Goh Poh Wah, and Dr Ervin Gubin Moung received the awards from PETRONAS senior vice president of Malaysia Petroleum Management Datuk Bacho Pilong.

The Chief Minister said the collaboration between UTP and UCSF was an excellent human capital development initiative that would not only give top Sabah SPM achievers education and training opportunities but also develop a skilled labour force.

Under the agreement, UTP and UCSF would be offering the one-year UCSF-UTP Foundation Programme based on the UTP foundation curriculum structure for SPM top achievers from Sabah to undergo foundation studies at UCSF.

Upon completion of the one-year programme at UCSF, students will have the opportunity to pursue their bachelor’s degree in science and engineering programmes at the UTP campus in Perak.

Vice chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Mohamed Ibrahim Abdul Mutalib signed on behalf of UTP, while vice chancellor Dr Rafiq Idris represented UCSF.