Tan welcomes China's role in developing Sabah ports
Published on: Friday, July 24, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: The State Government is unaware of any Putrajaya plan to allow Chinese firms to invest in state-owned ports but would welcome it if this is true. It follows reports that Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai is open to any form of investments from Chinese firms in state-owned ports, during a working visit to Beijing recently. This was viewed by a state political leader as not only meddling in state affairs but also to privatise government-owned facilities. But, according to Deputy Chief Minister cum Industrial Development Minister Datuk Raymond Tan, the move would be welcomed.
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"If China is interested, I'm excited. Any form of development and what not, we most welcome," he said. "I think we (the government) should be happy to look at it. We should be happy to see what kind of investment they are going to do here in Sabah," he added. He said this during the release of the Industrial Development Ministry publication, the Sabah Industrial Quarterly magazine, here, Thursday. Tan said this in response to Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) Secretary General Datuk Richard Yong who claimed that Liow Tiong had welcomed investments from Chinese firms into ports in several states in the country.
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Tan said he was unaware of Liow's recent calls and also unsure whether Infrastructure Development Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan was in the know, but stressed all the seven ports in Sabah do not belong to Putrajaya. On July 20, Yong had questioned Liow's intention while calling on the State Government to release data if there had been such plans. The Transport Minister had been reported as saying that investments in Malaysia's ports in Melaka, Sepanggar and Kuching from Chinese firms are welcomed during a working visit to Beijing on July 17.
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Liow was also quoted as saying, "So far, three ports – Port of Tanjung Pelepas, Port Klang and Kuantan Port – were adopting the open policy for foreign investors which allowed them to hold 30-40 per cent share when investing in these ports," suggesting the Sepanggar Container Port may also be privatised in future. He also noted foreign investments were much needed for these ports as they are still in the development stage, and that the Government was hoping to upgrade them to international level. On the magazine, Tan said it was found that fresh graduates find it the hardest to get jobs in Sabah but that there is an abundance of jobs available in the lower end of the spectrum. This leaves graduates to snap up such jobs as industry is faced with a shortage of middle to low end, entry level jobs and semi-skilled work. While it is easy to get low-paying jobs like working at a restaurant at present, Tan said skilled professionals from the middle to top end of the job market also faced little problem securing work due to the shortage of available talent. It noted that based on recent surveys, "Fresh graduates, in particular, might find it more challenging to get jobs." And Tan said the biggest challenge for Sabah in developing its industries is developing its supply of talents. He noted a 2013 Department of Statistics chart on the education attainment of Sabah workers, 76 per cent of around 1.6 million workers across the State only passed secondary and Primary Six education. The ministry-backed magazine had in the past raised the ire of industry players. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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