Jabu (third left) officially launches Unimas Business School together with his wife Empiang (third right), Jabidah (second right), Kadim (right), Shazali (left) and Hatta (second left).
KUCHING: Today’s graduates need to be ahead of the game to be relevant in their field of expertise.
“It is not enough to be able to complete the academic merit in a programme; graduates need to be able to show their talent and employability to stand out in today’s job market,” said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang.
Jabu, who is also Modernisation of Agriculture Minister and Rural Development Minister, was launching the Unimas Business School (UBS) and attending the Unimas Holdings Sdn Bhd annual dinner at Dewan Asajaya, Grand Margherita Hotel, on Sunday night.
He urged Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) to build more strategic collaborations between the relevant faculties in Brunei, Kalimantan Indonesia and Sabah.
“With strong linkages, Unimas through its Business School will become the university of choice in South East Asia. In fact, it is possible to establish UBS as the Harvard Business School of the East. That requires a lot of work and dedication, and I’m confident that Unimas has the ingredients to make this happen.”
Jabu added that Unimas and the state government had always enjoyed a strong relationship since the university’s establishment in 1992, allowing government servants to pursue higher education and giving opportunities to the local community to benefit directly or indirectly.
“The state will need more capable human resources in the next 10 years or so in line with the development of SCORE. Our focus is always on high impact sectors and industries where we need local talent, capabilities and resource.”
He urged Unimas to continue contributing to the development of local farmers.
“Productivity is still a great challenge due to continuous application of traditional agriculture practices among small farming communities, as well as insufficient basic infrastructure in most places.”
He said outcomes of any practical R&D projects are useful for local farmers through sharing of strategic collaboration between the state and Unimas’ R&D programmes as the impact will be significantly felt.
“My ministry is always looking for new ideas and discoveries that can push the productivity of local farmers. They need to be knowledgeable and willing to learn new things, and they need tools to help them roll out what they learn.”
In her speech, Unimas Holdings Sdn Bhd chairperson Datu Jabidah Monseri said as a commercial arm of the university, they will always be concerned about the future.
“With the increasing level of competition plus the downturn of the economy nowadays, we continue to strive in putting our clients’ interest first,” she said, adding that they aspire to develop meaningful and profitable partnerships with all stakeholders.
Also present at the launch were Unimas vice chancellor Datuk Dr Mohd Kadim Suhaidi, deputy vice chancellor (Student Affairs and Alumni) Prof Datuk Fadzil Abd Rahman, deputy vice chancellor (Research and Innovation) Prof Dr Kopli Bujang, deputy vice chancellor (Academic and International) Prof Dr Wan Hashim Wan Ibrahim, Unimas Board of Directors chairman Datuk Dr Hatta Solhi and Unimas Business School dean Prof Dr Shazali Abu Mansor.
Jabu was accompanied by his wife Dato Sri Empiang Jabu.
The establishment of Unimas Business School was approved by the Ministry of Higher Education on November 26 last year. It officially commenced operation on January 2 this year.
UBS is offering Corporate Master in Business Administration and Master of Science (Human Resource Development). They also plan to offer a few Master’s Degree programme in other specialisations such as Human Resource Management, Arts and Design Management, Occupational Safety and Health Management, and executive programmes as well as skill-focused courses.
UBS is currently operating at the Faculty of Economics and Business, Unimas but is due to move to Unimas City Campus (formerly Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences) at Jalan Tun Ahmad Zaidi Adruce.