KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 — The establishment of Raub campus of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) in Mukim Gali here was the result of Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for Dong state seat Datuk Shahiruddin Ab Moin’s persistence to make it happen.
The matter was revealed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak who said that Shahiruddin, who is also Raub Umno chief, came to see him five years ago begging for a UITM campus to be built in the constituency.
“He came to my office with a letter (of request), and with his sad face and very sad voice he said that Raub did not have any public institution of higher learning...he requested for a UiTM campus to be built there.
“I accepted (the request) and I gave it an immediate approval. Tomorrow marks the fifth anniversary because I was here on May 4, 2015 to officiate the ground breaking ceremony for the UiTM project,” he said when opening the Raub UiTM campus here.
Also present was Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob, Higher Education Ministry secretary general Tan Sri Noorul Ainur Mohd Nur, UiTM vice-chancellor Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Hassan Said and Shahiruddin.
Najib also expressed his admiration with the progress of the campus, which currently has 3,000 students and 200 lecturers and staff, despite the area being initially described as isolated.
He said it was believed that the campus would be a magnet that would attract more development, create more business opportunities and improve the quality of public transport, while at the same time, change the landscape of the constituency, which is famous for its Musang King durians.
“When the district has a UiTM campus, it means that the government's commitment to provide access to quality education is getting clearer, and our success in fulfilling that goal has also been proven,” he said.
The construction of the campus on a 32-hectare site was completed on Oct 31, 2015 and became fully operational on Nov 29. — Bernama
