No more ‘quota system’ for admission to Sarawak state-owned universities
SIBU – Admission into five state-owned universities in Sarawak will be based solely on meritocracy to pick the best of the best, said Dr Annuar Rapaee, the Malaysian state’s Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development. “Students need to know that enrolment for these universities is no longer based on a quota system. In other words, it’s based on meritocracy,” said Dr Annuar at the Sarawak Career and Training Fair 2024 on Nov 2. He said that with a system of meritocracy, students have to compete for places. “Students must realise the importance of competition in order to pursue their studies in university,” he added. The five universities are Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, Curtin University Malaysia, University of Technology Sarawak, i-CATS University College, and Centre for Technology Excellence Sarawak. According to Dr Annuar, for Sarawak to advance towards becoming a developed state, meritocracy is the “only way to train talents and pick the best of the best among our students”. To ensure that rural students can gain admission to these universities, he said the Sarawak government is upgrading their facilities, which includes spending RM15 million (S$4.5 million) yearly to provide free tuition for Secondary 3 and 5 students. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
New requirements for Sarawak – Malaysia My Second Home (S- MM2H) in 2025
The Sarawak government has announced new requirements for the Sarawak – Malaysia My Second Home (S-MM2H) for 2025. The new requirements will take effect on January 1st, 2025. FreeMalaysia Today (FMT) reported Sarawak tourism, creative industry and performing arts minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah as saying that the new requirements include requiring the applicant to be at least 30 years of age, and being from a country which has diplomatic relations with Malaysia. Other terms include having a fixed deposit account of RM500,000 with any local bank in Sarawak.If approved, the pass holder must also stay in Sarawak for a minimum of 30 days a year with the pass valid for 5 years before it can be renewed for another five. Karim was also quoted as saying that most of the approved applications for The Sarawak government has announced new requirements for the S-MM2H are from China, United Kingdom, Taiwan, Hong Kong and United States. More details about Sarawak – Malaysia My Second Home (S-MM2H)Checks on the official site for the program note the following terms and conditions as of 16 July 2024, for those keen to make Sarawak their second home. What is S-MM2HSarawak – Malaysia My Second Home (S-MM2H) is a ten year pass allowing non-Malaysians to stay in Sarawak. Pass holders will be given a maximum 5-year pass and need to renew it to claim another 5-year pass. The S-MM2H pass is different from the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) pass in terms of terms and conditions. Who can apply and basic terms of S-MM2HS-MM2H is open to those who are 50 years old and above with no limit of age set for the applicants spouses (if any). Unmarried children below the age of 21 are also allowed under their respective dependent. Those in this category need to show proof they have a fixed deposit of at least RM150K in a local Sarawak bank and a pension letter/employment confirmation with at least RM7K a month. For those without a pension letter or employment confirmation, they will need to have a bank statement that shows they have savings fund of at least RM50K. Those who are within 30-49 years old can also apply for Sarawak-Malaysia My Second Home (S-MM2H) by having at least RM150K in any local bank in Sarawak and a certified pension letter with pension funds of RM7K or monthly offshore income funds of at least RM7K. How do you apply for Sarawak – Malaysia My Second Home (S- MM2H)There are two ways to apply for the Sarawak-Malaysia My Second Home (S-MM2H) namely by direct submission, or via assisted submission. There is no online application. Direct submission means you hand in all the needed application documents to the One-Stop Center of the Ministry of tourism, creative industry and performing arts (MTCP) at Bangunan Baitulmakmur II, Petrajaya Sarawak. Direct submission means applications must be bonded by a sponsor who originated from and is currently staying in Sarawak, with the sponsor only sponsor one application at a time. Assisted Submissions on the other hand involve third parties or Legal Agent for S-MM2H which will help the application as they are the only ones allowed to submit S-MM2H applications. List of Legal Agents for S-MM2H can be seen HERE. The application process will take 90 working days and can be longer if more background checks is required. Official details on S-MM2HFor more details or updated information on the S-MM2H program, you can visit the websites below.Sarawak Tourism
