Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan will propose to the federal government to build a big scale skills institute here to provide skills training to the youth in the district.

He said the youth in Kota Belud wanted a skills institute to be built in efforts to produce more highly skilled youths to enable them to have more opportunities to be placed in various occupations and businesses.

"When I asked them (Kota Belud youth) to make a choice (build) of IPTA (public university) or skills institute, they all requested for a skills institute.

"For that, I will take into account the views of the young people in Kota Belud, if they want a skills institute, then I will suggest and bring up this proposal to the attention of the federal government," Abdul Rahman, who is Kota Belud Member of Parliament, told reporters after attending a ''dialogue with the youth'' programme here today.

About 300 Kota Belud youths participated in the dialogue, which was also attended by Sabah Agriculture and Food Industries Assistant Minister Datuk Musbah Jamli, who is also Tempasuk state assemblyman.

He was optimistic that the proposal would boost the education sector in Kota Belud, which had yet to have any big scale skills institute or universities, once it materialised.

-- BERNAMA