KOTA SAMARAHAN – MARA Poly-Tech College (KPTM) will expand its educational footprint in Sarawak when it opens a new branch here in 2026.
The news was delivered at the Friendly Meeting of MARA Poly-Tech College with the Samarahan Zone Sarawak Community on Thursday. KPTM chief executive officer Radzuan Razali said Kota Samarahan was chosen as the ideal site because it is increasingly being regarded as an education hub.
He pointed out that KPTM, which has been around the education field for more than 20 years, presently provides over 50 academic programmes from foundation to doctorate levels. The academy’s nearly 70,000 alumni boast a job marketability rate of 94 percent; an impressive testament to the quality education that it provides.
Radzuan also highlighted the achievements of the Borneo Project, a special project to help students from Sarawak, Sabah and Labuan. He said up to almost RM1mil was set aside last year to help rural and needy students, with the programme still reaching out to those in need.
Samarahan District Officer, Ahmad Abdul Razak, on the other hand has welcomed the soon-to-be-established branch as a major step forward for the locality. He said the new campus will contribute to economic development by preparing a well-trained workforce that will serve industry across the region.
KPTM’s presence in Kota Samarahan also supports Sarawak’s agenda of increasing higher education participation and providing intervention on skills development for its youth. “The proposed new college would aim at tapping students from all over the state and provide them modern facilities and other opportunities to meet market requirements as they grow,” he said.
Analysts say the decision will not only enhance KPTM’s presence in East Malaysia but also position Kota Samarahan as an education and innovation hub. To be completed by 2026, the branch aims to offer further opportunities to local students pursuing tertiary education as well as supporting Sarawak’s human capital development agenda in the long run.
