THE Malaysian government has allocated RM200 million (about $82m) of its Ninth Malaysian Plan (2006-2010) to the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP), the Malaysian High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam announced yesterday.
Speaking at an MTCP alumni dinner at The Rizqun International Hotel yesterday evening, Dato Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari said, “The bulk of it will go to human resource development and training.”
He also announced that as of January 1, the International Secretariate for the MTCP will be under Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is currently under the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister’s Office in Malaysia.
“I believe this decision will strengthen the programme even more through various upgrades and changes. It is my hope to see this programme carried out with more effectiveness to achieve the desired target,” he said
“Even as we speak, there are three participants from Brunei undergoing this course,” he added.
An estimated 40 Brunei government personnel who have attended the various short courses in Malaysia were present at the event.
Guest of honour was Sulia Nayan, Director of Technical Assistance at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as well as Sabah Tourism Board Deputy Chairman Dato Sari Suhut.
The MTCP can be traced back to 1978, at the First Commonwealth Heads of States meeting in Sydney, where the idea was first conceived.
The MTCP was launched on September 7, 1980, at the Commonwealth Heads of State meeting in New Delhi, India, to signify Malaysia’s commitment to “South-South Cooperation”.
More than 2,000 participants from 135 member countries come to Malaysia to participate in the programme annually.
To date the MTCP has about 21,784 alumni worldwide who have participated in about 119 specialised courses at 48 MTCP training institutions aimed at building human capital in developing countries around the world.
The programme was introduced in Brunei in the early 1980s, and since 2002 some 203 Bruneians have participated in the programme. Sixty participants are selected to attend the various courses each year.
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