KANGAR: Improving the capacity of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and mastery of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) among youth is needed to build the domestic economic resilience of Malaysia, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The Prime Minister said the fields of engineering, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital, as well as approaches to keep up with current economic developments, must be prioritised to enable Malaysia to achieve this goal.
"Enter the fields of engineering, AI, digital and follow economic developments, and do not be dragged into issues that can break and weaken us, such as listening to quarrelsome talks, which spew hatred," he said.
The Prime Minister was speaking at the Perlis Aidilfitri celebration near here on Sunday (April 27). Also present were the Raja of Perlis Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail and the Raja Perempuan of Perlis Tuanku Tengku Fauziah Almarhum Tengku Abdul Rashid.
Also attending the ceremony were the Raja Muda of Perlis Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail and the Raja Puan Muda of Perlis Tuanku Dr Hajah Lailatul Shahreen Akashah Khalil.
Also present were Perlis Mentri Besar Mohd Shukri Ramli and Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
Meanwhile, Anwar, who is also the Minister of Finance, announced that the development allocation channelled by the federal government to Perlis from 2022 to 2024 recorded a 65% increase to RM645.58mil last year, with RM596.82mil recorded in 2023 and RM391.91mil in 2022.
"For Perlis' annual grants in 2022, it was RM168.4mil, RM182.3mil in 2023 and RM210.6mi in 2024, which means Perlis is among the highest with a 25% increase," he said.
Regarding the Basic Rahmah Contribution Programme (Sara) in Perlis, he said the beneficiaries of the programme had increased to 62,292 people as of April compared to 25,682 recipients last year.
Earlier, the Prime Minister chaired a Special State Development Meeting with the Perlis Mentri Besar and the leadership of the state and federal governments at the Perlis state development office here.
Through a Facebook post, Anwar said that the government machinery at all levels must immediately expedite the approval and implementation of projects without being hampered by bureaucratic red tape.
"I have instructed agencies to tighten monitoring of projects and not hesitate to punish those who delay them to the detriment of the people.
"The Perlis Mentri Besar then presented several state development priorities, covering basic infrastructure such as roads, flood control, tourism, ports and education," he said.
Anwar said among the projects raised were the development of Sanglang port, the reconstruction of Sekolah Kebangsaan Chuping, the completion of the abandoned Sekolah Sukan Malaysia Perlis project and the Chuping flood reservoir upgrade project.
The Prime Minister said that taking into account their importance, he had ordered the reconstruction of Sekolah Kebangsaan Chuping to commence this year, while the Sekolah Sukan Malaysia Perlis project, which has been abandoned for the past 12 years, must be immediately handed over to a capable government company.
"The federal and state government machinery must dare to think outside the old framework to break the deadlock, speed up the resolution of the people's problems, and build a resilient economic bulwark, thus raising the dignity of the people and the country on the world stage," he said. - Bernama
