KOTA KINABALU – An Umno supreme council member has lauded the “Look Borneo” policy idea mooted by former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, saying it is timely for the East Malaysia states to be the country’s new economic engine.
Former Kota Belud MP Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan today said Sabah and Sarawak have all the potential to be Malaysia’s economic catalysts and the prime focus for domestic and international investments.
“The Look Borneo policy is an interesting idea and would be able to spur Malaysia's economy apart from transforming Sabah and Sarawak as the country’s new economic engine.
“However, this will depend on the willingness and the boldness of Putrajaya to make drastic changes in the national economic strategy,” said Abdul Rahman, here today.
The former federal minister in the Economic Planning Unit said this in response to the Pekan MP’s budget speech Look Borneo policy in parliament two days ago.
Abdul Rahman also shared his plans to realise Najib’s ideas, saying for one, federal allocation to the states should be made out in cash, not through federal agencies and that this would be able to improve the efficiency of local agencies.
Like Putrajaya, Sabah and Sarawak have their respective ministries and Putrajaya could cut the red tape from the overlapping roles of the federal and state ministries.
Abdul Rahman said this would lead to decisions no longer being made by bureaucrats in Putrajaya, but from locals from the respective states who have far more knowledge on the issues on the ground.
“The federal government would save a lot in management costs such as travelling allowances for peninsular based officers, the arrears for setting up local federal offices, transportation and accommodations,” he said.
Project decision-making would also be faster as local officers are more familiar with the Sabah and Sarawak issues and the grassroots problems, he said.
Abdul Rahman said the one country one price concept can also materialise under the Look Borneo policy, adding that the livelihood of the Sabah and Sarawak people would be greatly improved with the opening up of factories and other job opportunities.
He said this way, companies could standardise the prices of their products for the whole nation so that firms can no longer use the higher logistics costs to push prices higher in these states.
Abdul Rahman also proposed several other measures including improving the port facilities, encourage palm oil players to venture into downstream activities, improve internet speed, transform the local and international airports into airline hubs. – The Vibes, November 11, 2020
