Sabah can achieve hub of Far East vision: CM
Published on: Thursday, September 18, 2014
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah's progressive, diversifying economy and healthy public-private ties will further bolster foreign direct investments, as the state aims to attain the far east hub status in years to come.Speaking at the Sabah International Expo 2014, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman on Wednesday said Sabah will continue to restructure its businesses from just primary exports, value added products and services and knowledge driven.At the same time, he noted the important participation of the private sector, which is evident from the areas of expertise, and towards reaching the economic goals and the Sabah Development Corridor blueprint.
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"Sabah as the hub of the Far East, I am certain that we can achieve this vision if all stakeholders work together continously to unlock potentials that Sabah holds in various sectors of the economy," he said during the welcoming dinner of delegates from 31 nations to the Sabah International Expo (SIE) 2014, here.His speech was read by the Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan as he is at present in Poland for a particular ceremony, there.Promoting on the opportunities here, Musa has revealed on the present progress of the SDC, saying that as of March this year, 30 per cent or RM38.4 billion worth of the RM128 billion investment pledged have materialised, with over 25,000 jobs being created.Meanwhile, 60 per cent of its project have taken off or in the various stages of implementation.
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He further said that Sabah's growth remained robust as trade figures in the first six months of the year increased five per cent in exports, while imports by 11.4 per cent compared to the corresponding period of last year."This result in a trade surplus of RM4.9 billion," he said.
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Among others, he said 13 projects worth RM1 billion have been approved by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority between the same period of six months, he said.Musa said the implementation of the New Economic Model, which is to put Malaysia as a high income nation, is also producing positive results.The model, which is touted to unleash the country's growth potential through two components Government Transformation Programme and the Economuc Transformation Programme.For Sabah these initiatives are now well in gear, which us in the tourism, palm oil, agriculture, manufacturing and oil and gas sector, said Musa.He added the SIE has grown to become an important event, saying that more than 230,000 visitors thus far since its inception in the year 2000, while perhaps hundreds of millions of ringgit have been transacted."SIE has grown into an event that reflects the close public-private partnership in the State, as both parties work together to promote progress, prosperity and development... Let me assure you that we will continue to support the private sector initiatives to develop more economic potentials."With a large number of entrepreneurs to start networking in effort to establish business partnerships," he said.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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