Dearth of technical talent a challenge faced by Sabah
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Quarry Owners Association president, Datuk Ringo Wong, has highlighted a dearth of technical talent as one of the challenges faced by Sabah quarry owners.
He expressed the hope that Sabah Agriculture and Food Industries Minister, Junz Wong, will be able to assist in the matter by bringing it up to the new government for assistance in terms of research and development.
“The industry has taken measures to provide for sustainable education,” he said in his speech during the luncheon following the 49th Sabah Quarry Owners Association annual general meeting (AGM) held here recently.
Ringo said, the industry needs continuous education measures to improve the skills of employees in order to achieve a more efficient management of quarries.
He added that education is an important part of the longterm goal of achieving sustainable quarrying activities, thus a long-term training program for employees in the industry is considered necessary.
Ringo also said that the growth of the construction and infrastructure industries and the increase in investments have driven the development of the sandstone market.
Therefore, sandstone, said Ringo, is highly dependent on the development of commercial, residential and infrastructure.
“Since Sabah’s development is usually relatively small, the quarry industry in Sabah has remained a small and mediumsized industry for the past few decades,” he explained.
Ringo also pointed out that the first phase of the Pan-Borneo Expressway is 720 kilometres long and the demand for sand and stone is expected to exceed 30 million metric tons.
However, he said, despite its potential and prospects, Sabah’s land area is larger than that of the peninsula.
“To ensure industry growth and meet the growing needs of the various sectors in Sabah, quarry owners are encouraged and expected to increase their capital investment to expand their facilities at different locations.
“The small-scale quarries and partners in the state are facing continuous problems in terms of legitimacy. This is usually due to the length of time taken to process applications. Furthermore, the operating period granted is usually quite short, making investment recovery disproportionate,” he said.
Ringo, therefore, expressed the hope that Minister Junz Wong would assist to forward all these relevant issues to the new government and find ways to shorten the licensing application process, particularly that related to the irrigation and drainage departments of the agricultural sector.
He also said that members of the association are prepared to work closely with the state government to improve the delivery and completion of projects, and will ensure adherence to the standards and regulations in practice.