KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 — The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah is currently receiving treatment and is under specialist’s observation at a hospital here after complaining of pain in the leg.
Comptroller of the Royal Household of Istana Negara Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin, however, said His Majesty’s health condition is generally good and not worrying.
As such, he said all programmes involving the King have been postponed to a date to be announced later.
“His Majesty is expected to return to Istana Negara soon after completing the treatment,” he said in a statement today.
Ahmad Fadil said the public have been asked to pray for the King to be blessed with quick recovery and continuing good health.
Also present were Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad, Senior Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin, Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid and Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu.
At the ceremony, the prime minister also announced that the National TVET Day would be celebrated on June 2 every year to recognise the contributions of many quarters to TVET.
“It is also in conjunction with the establishment of Politeknik Ungku Omar, which is the country’s earliest institution to provide TVET education since 1969,” he said.
Ismail Sabri said apart from the declaration of the National TVET Day, the organising of the National TVET Week Celebration was also one of the measures outlined in the National TVET Branding Plan.
He said the government’s concern for TVET was proven through the provision of high funding, in which 80 per cent of public TVET providers offered programmes for free, and a total of 171,412 TVET programmes at the diploma and bachelor’s degree levels were offered from 2019 to 2021.
The prime minister said although public awareness of the lucrative income offered to those who work in the TVET sector had increased, it had yet to achieve the target set.
He said, therefore, there must be a paradigm shift to create a more positive perception towards TVET with the support of parents, youths and the industry.
“There are many social media platforms that can be optimally utilised to promote TVET, including showcasing the success of TVET graduates and alumni, thus making it a career of choice,” he said.
At the same time, Ismail Sabri also called on the industry to be a strategic partner by promoting TVET to Keluarga Malaysia, highlighting career opportunities and allowing students to conduct field visits.
“I believe that this could increase people participation, thus making TVET the main catalyst in producing highly skilled local workforce like in developed countries,” he said.
