China sees biofuel potential
Published on: Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: A biofuel expert based in China has identified Sabah as a suitable location for planting sweet sorghum that can produce biofuel. Minister of Special Tasks Datuk Teo Chee Kang recently met with Shi-Zhong Li, the executive director of MOST-USDA Joint Research Centre for Biofuels and deputy director of the Institute of New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, in which Li shared the potential of producing biofuel from sweet sorghum. Teo subsequently introduced Li to a Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) lecturer for further discussion, with the hope that the discourse would result in a partnership in sweet sorghum plantation between Sabah and China.
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Teo, who also oversees the State Economic Planning Unit (EPU), said this during a courtesy call by Chen Peijie, Consul General of the People's Republic of China in Kota Kinabalu, Deputy Consul General Sun Xiaowu and Vice Consul Chen Xin here. Teo said the Chinese community in Sabah was ecstatic to learn that a Chinese consulate would finally be established in Kota Kinabalu. He said Sabah and China has maintained close relations all this while. The local Chinese community, trade, educational and cultural associations frequently conduct working visits to various provinces in China, which in turn, fostered good rapport with the local governments in China. "With the set up of a Chinese consulate here, Sabahans no longer need to apply for visa from the Consulate-General in Kuching or the Embassy in Kuala Lumpur," Teo said.
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In addition, Teo informed Chen that he led a working visit to Tsinghua University, Peking University and Zhejiang University in China last year. "We hope that the working visit could open doors for Sabahan students to pursue their tertiary education in China," he said.
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Although many Malaysian and Chinese universities are mutually recognizsd by both countries, not many Sabahans are currently studying in China, he said. In comparison, more local students pursue their higher education in Taiwan rather than China, Teo pointed out. Nonetheless, Teo said there were many excellent universities in China that were good options for Chinese independent school students.Teo said Chinese universities could also provide training for local teachers in Chinese schools, given that Chinese independent secondary schools and primary schools in Sabah still faced a shortage of Chinese teachers. Moreover, he said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has expressed his wish for our Chinese counterparts to assist Malaysia in training our teachers during his visit to China last year. On another note, Teo said the arrival of Chinese travelers to Sabah was affected by the MH370 and MH17 incidents and abduction cases in the State. However, Teo assured that Sabah is safe to visit as the Malaysian government has established the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom) to beef up security in the east coast of the State. Meanwhile, Chen pledged to promote Sabah to her people in order to attract more Chinese tourists to Sabah. At the same time, Chen hoped that the security in Sabah could be enhanced to ensure the safety of Chinese tourists as it was the responsibility of the Chinese consulate to keep their citizens safe. Since arriving in Kota Kinabalu a few days ago, Chen said she has been meeting State Government and community leaders, including Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Haji Aman. She also experienced first-hand the beauty of Sabah and friendliness of the locals, things that she has heard numerous times before she came. Chen acknowledged that Sabahans and their Chinese counterparts have always maintained close relations, and commended the Chinese community for their good work in the education sector. Currently, Chen said a suitable location has yet to be found to establish a permanent Chinese consulate, but she did raise the possibility of setting up a temporary consulate in the meantime. Chen said a lot of work would have to be done once the Chinese consulate was established, particularly in fostering cooperation between Sabah and China in the fields of education, culture and trade. Chen said she was willing to serve as a bridge between Sabah and China, to convey the State Government's development plans and business opportunities to the Chinese Government. "We are looking forward to more trade and investment cooperation between China and Sabah." She also said that around 400 Chinese citizens were currently studying in Sabah. Chen believed that efforts could be done to encourage more students to encourage Sabahan students to pursue their studies in China and vice versa. On the other hand, Chen said she would do her level best to promote Sabah to Chinese citizens while at the same time, Sabah must step up our security measures to ensure the safety of Chinese tourists. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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