Retiring and veteran members of the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) from Sabah and Sarawak can now undergo transitional training here with the opening of the Ex-Servicemen’s Affairs Corporation’s (Perhebat) Sarawak and Sabah region temporary campus in Kuching.
Deputy Defence Minister Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad said the temporary campus was Perhebat’s first step towards expanding its services for retiring servicemen and the veterans, with the target of eventually setting up a permanent campus here and branches in Sarawak and Sabah.
“We hope the state government will consider Perhebat’s application for a piece of land for the permanent campus,” he said after offficially opening the temporary campus today.
Perhebat chairman, Admiral (Rtd) Tan Sri Ilyas Din, said the temporary campus could provide training for 250 ex-servicemen each year, with January this year seeing the first intake of 98 trainees for the six-month, 12-month and 18-month training programmes.
He said Perhebat’s main campus in Sungai Buloh, Selangor could only accommodate 1,200 trainees while each year about 4,000 members of the MAF ended their service.
In Sarawak, Perhebat collaborates with the Sarawak Skills Training Centre, SATT College, Construction Industry Development Board Academy, Youth Development Training Centre and Harina Consultancy.
The training centres provide vocational training in such fields as automotive, tailoring, tourist guiding, printing, catering, cookery, welding, eletrical and air-conditioning.
Perhebat in its media statement today said that it was renting office buildings and lecture rooms at the Sarawak Skills Training Centre in Jalan Wan Alwi, here.
It said Perhebat would also conduct short-term entrepreneurial courses for MAF veterans.
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