KOTA SAMARAHAN : Approximately 1,000 participants turned up for the ‘Aspirasiku 2050’ event together with Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri.
Held at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Sarawak here on Wednesday, the event also saw the signing ceremony of a partnership between the university and Banana Tree Sdn Bhd.
The objective of the signing ceremony was to assist in commercialising gluten-free banana flour which is a product from the research by the university’s lecturers. During her speech, Nancy pointed out that the commercialisation of a product is not easy and that it will take a long time.
“I was made to understand that with the gluten-free banana flour, it took almost a year with many discussions and improvements made before it was successfully commercialised.
“I hope that many more potential innovative products will be able to be commercialised and help the nation’s economy by providing employment opportunities. “At the same time, these products also have to have high commercial value to fulfil the needs of the market.
“Therefore, support and close collaboration is needed between universities, research institutes, and the industry to fulfil the needs of the consumers,” she said.
During the signing ceremony, the university was represented by its Rector Prof Dato Dr Jamil Haji Hamali and Banana Tree Sdn Bhd was represented by its CEO Tho Tze Bing.
