Kota Kinabalu: Agriculture and Food Security Deputy Minister Chan Foong Hin said there is a need to establish a one-stop centre in Sabah to facilitate the dissemination of the Ministry’s latest information to the public.
“During my work visits to the various agencies under the Ministry here, I discovered that one of the issues is that sometimes people are not aware of what the government offers,” Chan told reporters after delivering his mandate to Ministry’s personnel and officials at the Sabah Federal Administrative Centre, Tuesday.
He said that prior to being appointed to the Ministry, he was unaware of the government’s offers.
Citing the Agropreneur Muda Program, which existed in the Ministry for a long time.
“We did not know about this and we included this in the manifesto, while all along it had existed.
“This is a classic example of people not being aware of what is accessible to them, thus the need for a one-stop centre dedicated to channelling agriculture related information to the people,” he said.
He said that the one-stop centre will be similar to the Urban Transformation Centre (UTC), where all agencies are gathered in one location for easier access.
“I think this concept is something good that we should learn from Najib (Malaysia’s former prime minister),” Chan remarked, referring to the UTC concept introduced by Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Chan also said that because agriculture is administered by the State Government in Sabah but grants are administered by the Federal Government, a one-stop centre to facilitate all matters related to agriculture would be beneficial.
“Rather than having to go to the State Government for information and then to the Federal Government for information, it would be easier for our farming community to acquire information in one centre,” he added.
He said that UTC houses several agencies, including the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama), which he believes can be transformed into a one-stop centre.
“We will begin with Kota Kinabalu as a starting point before establishing one-stop centres in other locations,” he said, adding that he will not repeat the former practise of focusing just on Beluran.
He also urged his Ministry’s officials in Sabah to operate with the utmost integrity, honesty, and efficiency because these qualities are crucial to producing high-calibre work, effective collaboration and starting a new chapter in the nation’s agricultural development.
On a different note, he thanked Agro Bank for allocating RM10 million to Sabah specifically for two programmes, Agropreneur Muda and Farming Community.
Meanwhile, Dato Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah Raja Hussin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Agro Bank, said that they had previously announced allocations for the nation, but this time it is exclusively for Sabah.
“For the first time in Sabah, we are extending financing assistance at a low interest rate in response to the Ministry’s demand to empower agriculture in Sabah,” he said.
