PHNOM PENH, Feb 24 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said further discussion will be held with the Cambodian government on giving educational assistance and employment opportunities to the Champa Malay Muslim community.
He said the areas identified include technical education and vocational training (TVET) which could create highly skilled manpower among the 800,000 Champa Malay community in the ASEAN-member country.
“For Datuk Othsman (Hassan, Senior Minister of the Prime Minister’s Department in Cambodia), we will see how we are able to help in terms of education. It is learnt that many are studying in Kuala Lumpur,” he said at a dinner with Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family diaspora) in Cambodia, last night.
The prime minister arrived in Cambodia yesterday for a two-day official visit to further strengthen 65 years of bilateral ties as well as trade and investment opportunities and people to people movement between the two countries.
Upon arrival, he was received by Othsman, who was also present at the dinner. Othsman is also the minister responsible for the affairs of the Muslim community in Cambodia.
In addition, Ismail Sabri said the possibility of job opportunities for the Champa Malays could also be explored as there are two million registered foreign workers in Malaysia.
“We may probably be able to offer the Champa Malay Muslim community from Cambodia to be part of the workforce in Malaysia. Insya-Allah, the Malay community in Malaysia will continue to help Champa Muslims in Cambodia, ” he said.
Sources: BERNAMA