Adenan is not a dictator

April 20, 2016

PBB Supreme Council member Karim Hamzah takes Sarawak DAP to task for calling Adenan Satem a dictator.

PETALING JAYA: PBB Supreme Council member Karim Hamzah says Sarawak DAP Chairman Chong Chien Jen does not understand the meaning of “dictator”.

He said by making such a sweeping statement that Chief Minister Adenan Satem was a “dictator in the making”, Chong was showing he was desperate and fearful that his party will get thrashed in the forthcoming election.

“He is trying to make a last-ditch attempt to show DAP is still relevant.”

Chong had made the “dictator in the making” remark when commenting on the increasing number of Opposition leaders from West Malaysia being barred entry into Sarawak.

Amanah’s Communications Director and Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad was the latest to be barred entry on reaching Kuching International Airport yesterday.

Karim pointed out that since becoming Chief Minister about two years ago, Adenan had made more than 50 good decisions which had been well accepted by the Sarawak public.

“This is the reason for his soaring approval, as noted in the Merdeka Center survey.

Adenan praised for going beyond rhetoric

March 17, 2016

A PBB man says chief minister wants to ensure Sarawak remains in good hands long after he has retired

PETALING JAYA: Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem is laying the foundations for a sustainable Sarawak, driven by a skilled and knowledgeable society rather than being driven by natural resources.

In an interview with FMT, Parti Pesaka Bumiputra (PBB) Supreme Council member Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah explained that Adenan’s policies and decisions pertaining to education and language were aimed at transforming the state so that its growth would be less dependent on its rich natural resources.

“Tok Nan wants to do more than manage the state,” he said. “He wants to ensure its future is in good hands long after he has retired.

“He knows that through better and firmer education policies, Sarawak stands to gain from having a highly skilled workforce capable of excelling not only in the state but also globally.”

Karim, the assemblyman for Asajaya and Sarawak’s Assistant Housing Minister, pointed out that many of Adenan’s announcements on education had been translated into policies that were being implemented.

He said Adenan’s policy of making English the state’s second official language and his persistence in encouraging Sarawakians to master the language was a major indication of how serious he was to develop the state’s human capital.

“Tok Nan has underlined the importance of English as the global language of commerce, science, technology and more,” he said.

‘Don’t be alarmed over Unimas-UEC issue’

November 8, 2015 

SIBU: Assistant Minister of Youth Development Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah is calling for calm amidst the dissatisfaction that arises following the announcement by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) that it will not recognise Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) as among its entry qualifications.

He assured all that there would be a positive outcome later but it would take time and discussions for the matter which was under federal jurisdiction.

“Do not be alarmed. The state government and our Chief Minister (Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem) had only announced the state’s recognition of UEC.

“(However) education education matters and policies are decided by Putrajaya. As such, Unimas being a public university is guided by the Higher Institution Ministry when it comes to enrolment.

“I believe adjustments would be made pursuant to our state government’s recognition of UEC — if not for all public universities (in Malaysia), it could be for public universities in Sarawak.

“This would take a little bit of time and discussion,” he told thesundaypost yesterday.

Abdul Karim added that if the discussions were held between the state and federal governments, with both being held by Barisan Nasional (BN), the possibility of it (recognition of UEC by public universities) coming to a ‘happy ending’ would be much higher.

Karim supports Adenan’s stand on UEC, English

November 6, 2015

SIBU: Assistant Minister of Youth Development Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah fully supports Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem’s strong stand on Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) and English as a medium of instruction.

Abdul Karim, who is Asajaya assemblyman, said the UEC issues had been lingering for too long and it was puzzling why the Education Ministry continued to withhold recognition of the certificate when it was recognised worldwide.

“There’s a high possibility that it’s not recognised because the parties lobbying for its recognition then are opposition leaning and Chinese based parties in BN are equally to be blamed for not being outspoken enough.

“As what has been correctly mentioned by the Chief Minister, the non-recognition by the government will lead to those having this certificate “moving” out of Malaysia and creating “brain drain” which eventually will be a loss to the country,” Abdul Karim told The Borneo Post yesterday.

Adenan had said he could not understand why the federal government refused to recognise UEC when private universities in many countries recognised this certificate by students from Chinese Independent Schools.

Adenan said this at Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC)’s Integrity Day 2015 in Kuching on Wednesday.

On the English Language, he said it was an international language of science and technology, literature, and communications.