November Month in History

HAPPY 42nd ANNIVERSARY TO YAYASAN SABAH

The idea of establishing of the YAYASAN SABAH was mooted by Sabah's first Head of State, Tun Datu Haji Mustapha Bin Datu Harun, at Mesapol, Sipitang on November 9, 1965. In his speech he stated:

Yayasan Sabah will act as an instituition that would strive initially to remedy the educational deficiencies in Sabah and subsequently to devise a system of redistributing the state's timber wealth to all of the populace. The initial objectives of the new foundation were largely directed to the creation of new educational opportunities; to provide ample facilities for improvement and progress in education; to widen the scope for the higher education of Sabah students throughout the world; to promote the establishment of a university college in Sabah; to arrange the award of scholarships from various institutions, including the Foundation itself, to students of Sabah origin; and to make donations to schools in need of special assistance."

In recognition of the needs for a better standard of living and education for Malaysians in Sabah, and in order to create an organisation which could address those needs more effectively and expeditiously, an enactment for the establishment of Yayasan Sabah was passed by the Sabah Legislative Assembly in 1966. Within this broad perimeter, Yayasan Sabah Group has been extensively involved in the provision and improvement of the socio-economic development of Malaysians in Sabah.

Yayasan Sabah Group's vision to be a Dynamic, People Oriented, Caring and Committed organisation is a clear message of its steadfast commitment to fulfil its corporate objectives of supplementing and complementing the Government's effort to bring social and economic progress for Malaysians in Sabah. Its social programmes comprising of Intellectual and Mind Development, Socio-Economic Development, Socio-Cultural Development and supported by research and development activities are implemented through its five zones, namely West Coast North, West Coast South, Interior, East Coast North, and East Coast South.

In the commercial and industrial sectors, Yayasan Sabah Group is acknowledged as a pioneer, leader, innovator and facilitator of growth. To sustain its effective role in generating funds for its socio-economic programmes, Yayasan Sabah Group has expanded its income generation base from the traditional forestry based sector to include other productive sectors such as transportation, real estate, hospitality, eco-tourism and recently, into fisheries, agro-plantation, biotechnology, and oil and gas. This is in-line with the strategic direction or “Halatuju” of the State which focuses on agriculture, tourism and manufacturing.

Source: http://www.ysnet.org.my/

Note: Mesapol is predominantly Kedayan kampung and it happened I came from the same kampung. Since its inception more than 40 years ago, lots of Sabahan, myself no exception, had benefited from the visionary educational initiatives set by Tun Datu Haji Mustapha Bin Datu Harun through an organisation known as Yayasan Sabah. Happy 42nd Anniversary to Yayasan Sabah.