KOTA KINABALU – Sabah should not only talk about natural resources, but focus on the need for better connectivity to help wealth creation.
Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee, said in its biennial conference that connectivity means logistics to facilitate the movement of goods and services by air, sea and land to other countries.
He said this will ensure the state benefits from international trade and investments.
“Connections are the ‘guanxi’ (in Chinese) or ‘hubungan rapat’ (in Bahasa Melayu) with the people of other countries, especially our neighbours. This will give rise to benefits in terms of trade and investments,” he said, referring to neighbouring countries in the BIMP-EAGA region and China.
BIMP-EAGA consists of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines.
This view shows a fresh political point for SAPP as the party had been known for fighting for state rights, autonomy and improvements to oil revenue since it left Barisan Nasional in 2008.
Sabah is not just about natural resources, racial harmony and political stability alone, he added.
“We do not have to keep talkin about our abundant natural resources, our racial harmony and our political stability as though these are our only advantages to make our country strong.
“Sabah also can forge ahead if we can strengthen our economy in a big way in the shortest possible time.”
Saying that his views came from studying recent global events, Yong said the future of Sabah lies in space and maritime that held much wealth creation.
“But Sabah is weak in both our aviation and maritime sectors. This is where more creative ideas are needed to develop the aviation and maritime assets of Malaysia to benefit Sabah.” – The Vibes, June 16, 2021
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