Dewan Rakyat News-In-Brief: Aug 11

OVER RM6 BILLION ALLOCATED FOR DEVELOPMENT OF DILAPIDATED SCHOOLS IN SABAH

KUALA LUMPUR --The government has approved 389 redevelopment projects for dilapidated school buildings in Sabah, with a total cost of RM6.07 billion from 2016 until August this year.

Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh said of these, 233 projects have been completed, 64 are under construction, and 92 are in the pre-construction phase.

“The Ministry of Education allocated RM98.51 million for repairing and maintaining government schools in Sabah in 2023. For 2024, RM54.35 million was set aside, and RM101.79 million has already been spent up to July 2025,” he said during the question and answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was responding to a question from Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal (Warisan-Semporna) regarding the number of dilapidated schools identified in Sabah in 2023 and the annual maintenance funding provided from 2023 to 2025.

-- BERNAMA

DEFENCE ASSETS CONTINUOUSLY ENHANCED TO ENSURE NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY

KUALA LUMPUR -- The Ministry of Defence is continuously upgrading its defence assets to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and security, said Deputy Defence Minister Adly Zahari.

This includes enhancing radar capabilities to monitor Sabah’s waters and the South China Sea, procuring Littoral Mission Ships (LMS), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and constructing Littoral Combat Ships (LCS).

Adly added that the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) have deployed officers and personnel at posts in Kudat, Sandakan, Lahad Datu, and Semporna to strengthen security along Sabah’s east coast.

“There is also an MAF post on Pulau Bakungan Kecil in the Libaran area, which has surveillance radar and a Rapid Response Team,” he said in reply to Datuk Awang Hashim (PN-Pendang), who inquired about maritime security in the South China Sea and the ministry’s plans to deploy strategic assets to protect the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) during the oral question and session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

-- BERNAMA

507 LOCAL R&D PRODUCTS RECOGNISED UNDER MySTI INITIATIVE

KUALA LUMPUR -- A total of 507 local research and development (R&D) products have been recognised under the MySTI (Use of Local R&D Product Initiative) as of last July.

Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) Deputy Minister Datuk Mohammad Yusof Apdal said these products cover various sectors including health, agriculture, information technology, medical devices, and the environment.

“MOSTI, along with agencies and strategic partners, actively implements initiatives to enhance the visibility and usage of MySTI-certified products, including organising the MySTI Pavilion at high-impact events such as the ASEAN Summit, International Invention, Innovation and Technology Exhibition (ITEX), and other ministry expos,” he said.

He was responding to a question from S. Kesavan (PH-Sungai Siput) regarding the status of the MySTI programme during the oral question and answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

-- BERNAMA