KOTA KINABALU – Sabah is a land of endless potential, with access to over 70 million consumers in the region, says chief minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
The Sulaman assemblyman said that consequently, he envisions turning Sabah into a regional hub for manufacturing, maritime and transportation for emerging and developed nations.
“When I took over as the chief minister of Sabah, we embarked on a new journey to chart out the state’s future in the next five years.
“In March 2021, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah launched the five-year Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) Development Plan,” he said in his keynote address at the opening of the “Unlocking Sabah’s potential, Unleashing Business Opportunities” summit, here, today.
“The SMJ plan encompasses three main thrusts: firstly, agriculture, industry and tourism; secondly, human capital and well-being; and thirdly, connectivity, green infrastructure and sustainability networks.”
Hajiji said Sabah offers many opportunities in many sectors and had secured RM4.4 billion worth of foreign investments as of the middle of last year – the third largest investment in the country.
Although our economy was affected by the pandemic, we are confident of a rebound in 2022. With the various initiatives implemented by the government, the negative growth of various sectors in 2020 has shown positive growth in 2021.
“Sabah’s economic growth is expected to show a recovery trend and will grow steadily at a positive rate of 3.8% to 4%.
“Sabah’s best days are ahead of us," said Hajiji, in view of the reopening of the economic sectors as well as inter-district and inter-state travel.
For agriculture, Hajiji said the state would be adopting sustainable and modern practices while creating an Agriculture Industrial Zone.
In the industrial sector, he said Sabah currently has several key industrial zones, namely the Integrated Logistics Services, Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park and Transhipment Hub, the Oil and Gas Terminal in Kimanis and the Sipitang Oil and Gas Industrial Park.
“In addition, there is also the Palm Oil Industrial Cluster in Lahad Datu and the Furniture Park in Sandakan,” he said.
Regarding the tourism sector, aside from tapping into meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions, Hajiji noted the creation of high-end tourism projects such as the integrated Lok Kawi Resort City Development.
Further, Hajiji highlighted Sabah’s strategic location – sitting at the centre of Southeast Asia, and in the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-Eaga).
On another note, Hajiji also referenced Sabah’s solution to its power woes, such as the Sabah-Sarawak 275 kV interconnection power exchange agreement, which supports the Borneo Grid and the Trans-Borneo Power Grid Sarawak-West Kalimantan interconnection project.
He also said the federal government had also invested heavily on the Pan-Borneo highway link, which likely provides access to the Trans-Kalimantan Highway.
“I envision Sabah as a potential hub for manufacturing, maritime and transportation in the region.
I foresee Sabah too will benefit from the economic cooperation in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which came into force last month.
“The planned relocation of the Indonesian capital of Jakarta to East Kalimantan also bodes well for Sabah.
“As more people and businesses move into Borneo, it will strengthen our position and spur economic activities. Investors, domestic or foreign, will have access to this subregion with a market of over 70 million people and growing,” he said.
In addition to this, Hajiji said Sabah is also ramping up digitalisation efforts to leverage the potential of the digital economy, adding that the federal government has allotted RM3.61 billion to elevate the Internet experience to 5G technology by 2022. – The Vibes, January 17, 2022
