Daily Express Subscriber
Sign in to your account.

KOTA KINABALU: Youths have been urged to start venturing into the science and technology field due to its future potential."Countries that are advanced in terms of science and technology are mostly those in control and power," said Youth and Sports Assistant Minister Datuk Masiung Banah.

He said this during a session between SMK Penangah students who will be competing against Sarawak and Terengganu for the national level Petronas All About Youth Programme (PAAYP) CSR-based competition on Nov 19 at Tabung Haji Hotel, here, Saturday.

SMK Penangah had embarked on a project known as 'Penangah Superhero Student' which involved the setting up of a one-stop centre for printing, supply of stationery and collection of recycle materials.

Masiung, who is also Kuamut Assemblyman, explained that he had previously suggested Petronas adopt Kuamut for development purposes.

"Even though Kuamut was not adopted, Petronas organised a lot of community-based programmes for the people.

"For example, a total of two schools in Kuamut had been adopted by Petronas as well as a total of RM77 million of allocations were given for forest conservation purposes.

"Not to mention also the PAAYP programme which had assisted students from rural areas and the surrounding community," he said.

Masiung later praised the students' presentation on their project and told the students that not only are they going to represent their school in the upcoming competition but they will be representing Sabah as well.

"We will continue to give our support to all the programmes organised by Petronas, especially in helping with the students' development," he added.

Meanwhile, SMK Penangah student, Walton Ricki, 16, who hails from Kg Tampasak, Tongod, said he is happy to have the opportunity to participate in the competition.

"At first, we wanted to build a mini garden at our school but finally we decided to set up a one-stop centre instead.

"I am very confident that we will win although we still need to improve in terms of our presentation skills," he said, adding that the PAAYP programme has helped him to boost his confidence level.

Walton, who is the fourth among his eight siblings, said he plans to set up a co-operative at his school because in the past, students often encountered problems in purchasing stationery.

"We hope our idea will be able help our school and the idea will be adopted by the rest for the benefit of all," he said, adding that he received huge support from both his parents.

Another student, Alice Mintu of Kg Masaung, said she did not expect that they would be able to emerge as one of the State-level champions in the programme.

"We had faced lots of challenges throughout our preparation for the competition and we are thankful that we received lots of support from our teachers," she said.

"I am happy that we will be representing Sabah in the national level but I also feel nervous at the same time," she said.

Also present was Petronas Sabah and Labuan Regional Office General Manager Julita Ontol.

Also involved in the competition are students of SMK Bongkol, Pitas who embarked on their 'One Filter Bongkol' project, which is a water filter system to supply clean water to the school and surrounding communities.

Earlier, SMK Bongkol had also given a preview of their presentation to State Industrial Development Assistant Minister-cum-Pitas Assemblyman Datuk Bolkiah Ismail.

Speaking at a high tea reception, he said the project was a very creative innovation and wished the students the best in the competition.

A total of 1,200 Form Four students from 60 schools with 20 each from Sabah, Sarawak and Terengganu will be competing to win the grand prize of school refurbishment fund worth RM50,000.

Team members will also receive RM1,000 deposited into their individual accounts listed under the National Education Savings Scheme (SSPN) and prizes worth RM200.