Kota Kinabalu: Recognising the urgent need to reduce unemployment, the Ministry of Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship is intensifying efforts to bring high impact investments to Sabah to create more job opportunities for the people.
Its Minister, Datuk Phoong Jin Zhe, reiterated the industrial sector is the backbone powering economic development which also generates better job opportunities in Sabah, and turn the tide on poverty.
“This will not only reduce unemployment, but also reverse the trend of locals migrating to Peninsular Malaysia and overseas in search of greener pastures,” he said in reply to Nabawan Assemblyman Datuk Ghani Mohamed Yassin.
Phoong said the arrival of high-impact investments to the state such as Sk Nexillis Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Kibing Group had been of immense benefit to the people in terms of new employment opportunities.
Phoong, who is also Luyang Assemblyman, affirmed that the Ministry aims to implement various initiatives to create more jobs through similar investments.
He said these included promoting investment opportunities in Sabah during trade missions and overseas visits, organising investment forums and international conferences on potential economic sectors such as the blue economy, coordinating and facilitating investment proposals in Sabah effectively and efficiently, improving infrastructure and utilities at industrial parks to make them more conducive to investors.
“We will continue to work closely with the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) Secretariat to implement a poverty alleviation programme known as ‘MySMJ Kerja: Industri’ to recruit household members (AIR) to work in large companies investing in the state,” he added
Meanwhile, Phoong said the Ministry had always encouraged Sabahans working in the peninsula or overseas to return to home to fill the job vacancies in certain fields to reduce relocation of local talents overseas and other states.
“It is hoped efforts to attract more investors to Sabah can help generate more jobs and reduce the rate of unemployment, poverty and migration to the peninsula or overseas,” he said.
