Dalat to have Centre of Technical Excellence to train local youths

KUCHING: A Centre of Technical Excellence (Centexs) will soon be constructed in Dalat to equip local youths with skills without having to leave the district. “I hope that Centexs will transform our humble Dalat, as it did for Mukah Samarahan and Lundu,” Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah said during an Aidilfitri gathering for e-DOK at Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) here yesterday. ‘Era Digital – Dalat, Oya and Kut’ e-DOK is a think tank group comprising intellectuals from Dalat, Oya and Kut for which Fatimah is patron and advisor. Yesterday was their first attempt to bring people from Dalat together for them to make or renew acquaintance and get some activities rolling for e-DOK. Fatimah said Centexs is one of the six major projects coming to Dalat under the Rural Transformation Programme (RTP) and the 11th Malaysia Plan in efforts to change the landscape of the district. On July 16, Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg had performed the ground breaking ceremony for the Melanau Heritage Gallery for which he announced an allocation of RM2 million towards its construction. Fatimah said in the pipeline is a Welfare Complex, which will share the space with a Community-based Rehabilitation Centre, a special needs preschool and activity centre for elderly folks. Other projects include Tebingan Sungai Dalat, Oya Walk and Pekan Sabtu which are aimed at developing the constituency in a holistic manner towards improving the quality of life of the people in Dalat. During the event yesterday, two caring individuals stepped forward with contributions to the community. Tm Tec Academy (M) Sdn Bhd director Richard Song Swee Jin handed over a dialysis machine to Dalat Hospital, while Angela Chia from GC Coffeehouse Cafeteria and Catering donated bicycles. Also present were Fatimah’s husband Datu Dr Adi Badiozaman Tuah, Balingian assemblyman Abdul Yakub Arbi and DBP Sarawak director Dr Azmi Jahari. (Souce: The Borneo Post)