Deputy PM Ahmad Zahid Hamidi outlines that TVET building and dormitory provision hinges on enrolment, location, and national priorities, not just operational age.
KUALA LUMPUR: The provision of permanent buildings for long-standing Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions must align with a comprehensive national development plan.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi stated that infrastructure decisions depend on enrolment projections, location suitability, and state and federal priorities.
He explained that even student dormitory facilities are subject to programme suitability and trainee numbers.
“The industry-based training approach, apprenticeship and work-based learning allow trainees to follow training more flexibly without being completely dependent on permanent dormitory facilities,” he said in the Dewan Negara.
Ahmad Zahid, who chairs the National TVET Council, was responding to senators’ proposals for permanent buildings for centres operating over a decade in rural areas.
He also addressed disaster preparedness as Chairman of the National Disaster Management Agency.
The government is committed to strengthening disaster governance through the National Disaster Risk Reduction Policy 2030.
This policy targets enhanced risk management strategies at state and district levels by 2030.
On rural infrastructure, he informed that 203 road projects in Sabah and Sarawak’s interior have been approved for 2026.
The total cost for these projects is RM19.39 billion.
To improve village safety, his ministry is phasing in solar-powered street lights.
Selangor has recorded the highest installation of these lights with 25,613 units to date.
Installation and maintenance will be handled by Tenaga Nasional Berhad, with costs covered by the ministry’s annual allocation.
Ahmad Zahid also assured a comprehensive review of the Land (Group Settlement Areas) Act 1960.
This review aims to allow more than one house unit on an original Felda settler’s land site.
The current act only permits one house on the original plot.
The Prime Minister’s Department and Felda are implementing the review to improve existing provisions.
