SHAH ALAM, Sept 15 — Education remains crucial to developing the human capital needed to drive Selangor and Malaysia’s future growth, said Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari.
He said unlike countries or states with abundant natural resources, Malaysia must keep investing in its people through education to ensure future generations remain competitive.
“We do not have gold, silver or oil in large quantities. What we have is human capital, and education is key to developing that human capital,” he said during a town hall held in conjunction with Malaysia Day at Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Polytechnic here today.
Amirudin said the state government has supported education with various initiatives, including school programmes, literacy and numeracy interventions, and efforts to expose secondary school students to technical and professional fields.
“Education is important because the future of Malaysia depends on the quality of its human capital,” he added, saying the government must also understand and adapt its approach to younger generations’ needs, not simply criticise them.
Amirudin said the state also provides platforms such as Persatuan Mahasiswa Anak Selangor (PERMAS) that allows students to directly voice issues to the state government.
“The state is prepared to develop the platform into a more formal secretariat or unit under the education and higher learning portfolio to strengthen communication between students and the state government.”
Meanwhile, he highlighted volunteerism and activism as valuable opportunities for university students to help them develop leadership and understand community issues, citing Team Selangor, which has built a network of nearly 20,000 volunteers since 2014.
He also noted the overwhelming response to the recently concluded SUKMA hosted by Selangor, with 30,000 people registering as volunteers though only 10,000 spots were open.
Amirudin said the state would also support student-led volunteering with existing funds for student groups.
