Sabah Polls: BN's Suhaimi Pledges UniKL Campus In Sandakan To Curb Talent Outflow

KOTA KINABALU, Nov 19 (Bernama) -- Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the Sungai Sibuga seat, Datuk Suhaimi Nasir, has pledged to prioritise efforts to establish a Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) campus at the Sandakan Education Hub if given the mandate in the 17th Sabah state election.

Suhaimi, who is also Sabah UMNO information chief, said the proposal was not merely a campaign promise but a development strategy based on data, rationale and the needs of Sandakan.

“A region without institutions of knowledge is a region without a future. With UniKL in Sandakan, we are building a future greater than ourselves,” he said in a statement today.

Sungai Sibuga is one of three state constituencies under the Libaran parliamentary seat, which borders the Sandakan parliamentary constituency.

Suhaimi, who is also Libaran MP, said it was no longer the time to wait for development spillover from elsewhere, but to take the lead in driving the region’s education and transformation agenda.

He said the proposal had also been acknowledged as a timely initiative by Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, who expressed support for it during a meet-and-greet programme with local leaders at the Taman Murni People’s Housing Project (PPR) in Sandakan today.

“MARA’s willingness to consider this proposal sends a clear signal that Sandakan is on a strategic path to becoming an academic excellence hub and a centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) for East Sabah,” he said.

Suhaimi said the initiative aligned with the Malaysia MADANI aspiration to strengthen national TVET, adding that UniKL, as a MARA institution with an international reputation, has the potential to become a reference centre for technical and professional education in Borneo.

He said Sandakan needs a nationally recognised higher education institution to close the gap in access to quality education, noting that without institutions like UniKL, young talents continue to leave the district and the local economy remains stuck in a cycle of semi-skilled labour.

“East Sabah has strategic sectors such as plantations, fisheries, agro-technology, logistics and biodiversity that require skilled, professionally certified and industry-ready talent.

“The presence of UniKL will create a symbiotic relationship between academia and industry, developing a demand-driven education ecosystem rather than a campus that merely produces graduates without direction,” he added.

Polling has been fixed for Nov 29 with early voting on Nov 25. 

For the latest news on the state election, visit https://prn.bernama.com/sabah/index.php.