​Legislative Council (LegCo) member Yang Berhormat Pengiran Haji Isa bin Pengiran Haji Aliuddin suggested the government to introduce post-training support mechanisms including incentives for companies to hire participants as permanent employees after training during the 21st LegCo session yesterday.

The direction of the participants after fulfilling the 12-month course needs to be clarified whether they will be offered permanent employment in the same company or will they need to look for other opportunities after the training period ends.

He also suggested entrepreneurial support programmes for participants who want to start abusiness such as post-training career guidance and job matching assistance to help participants find permanent jobs. LegCo member Yang Berhormat Pengiran Haji Isa confident with the continuity plan, said the pilot scheme will have a greater impact in ensuring that the youth attain stable jobs in line with their skills.

He also touched on the issue of home ownership, one of the challenges faced by the people, especially youth with low or middle incomes.

He welcomed the government’s efforts to increase the housing rate which showed the effectiveness of the housing programmes which have been implemented. However, it is known that not a lot of people are able to have their own home due to a high cost of housing.

As a district representative, LegCo member Yang Berhormat Pengiran Haji Isa said Saturday’s budget, does not only focus on economic development but also has efforts to strengthen development at the district level, including improving social welfare infrastructure and job opportunities for rural communities. He highlighted aspects that directly affect the people in the district, especially in the development of social welfare infrastructure, economic opportunities and human capital development.

One of the main aspects emphasised is the development of infrastructure and provision of basic services in the district.

He welcomed the government’s efforts in ensuring that basic facilities such as electricity, clean water, roads and telecommunications systems continue to be improved.

However, the reality on the ground shows that there are still districts experiencing challenges in accessing this infrastructure, especially in remote areas.

In terms of telecommunications, although the government has provided allocations to increase Internet network coverage in rural areas, efforts need to be accelerated amid the rapidly growing digital economy. This includes opportunities in digital entrepreneurship, online education and electronic government services.

LegCo member Yang Berhormat Pengiran Haji Isa suggested that the government provides incentives to telecommunications service providers to expand coverage in remote areas and provide digital training programmes to rural areas to ensure they can make good use of technology.

The issue of clean water supply and road maintenance is still a major challenge in several districts, where he suggested the government to introduce a scheduled maintenance mechanism in tackling the challenge, to ensure that roads in rural areas are always in good condition, especially for villages that still use dirt roads that are easily damaged during the rainy season. He also expressed appreciation over the government efforts to reduce unemployment which is the lowest rate at 4.8 per cent since 1991, describing it as a huge achievement.

(News & pic source: Borneo Bulletin)