Kota Kinabalu: A better tomorrow for Sabah with greater economic opportunities may put a halt to the women’s brain drain from the State, says State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Christina Liew.
She said although there are no official statistics to substantiate this trend, a sizeable number of talented, qualified and capable women have left Sabah over the past few decades in quest of better career prospects elsewhere.
Young and middle-aged women professionals from Sabah are reportedly working in the United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, China, Japan, Korea and Singapore, among others.
In her message for International Women’s Day today (March 8), Liew said:
“Sabah’s expertise loss is a gain to other nations in terms of women’s participation in the workforce.
“In my overseas trips to promote Sabah as a preferred tourist destination, I have met successful Sabahan women who told me they had to migrate to other countries as they could not find suitable employment in Sabah or that the remuneration offered by prospective employers was not commensurate with their qualifications and experience.
“With political stability, we hope increased employment opportunities, improved working conditions, better emoluments and a more conducive work environment in Sabah will make a difference and lure some of them back to serve the State in the near future.”
The Minister recalled having met a highly-qualified woman geologist from Sabah, who had worked overseas for many years, during the Swepa International Women’s Conference in Sabah last year.
“I believe the thriving oil and gas industry in Sabah will attract Sabahan women who are presently working in the same sector outside the State,” she said.
At this juncture, Liew urged existing and potential women entrepreneurs to capitalise on the rejuvenated tourism industry, offering varied opportunities to stakeholders to make a decent living.
“Statistics from the Sabah Tourism Board’s Research Division indicate that the number of domestic and international visitor arrivals is progressing towards the pre-pandemic levels,” she said, adding this is a sign of positive tourism growth.
Citing the Visitor Arrivals to Sabah Report for 2025, the Minister said Sabah made a strong start in January this year by recording 303,614 total visitor arrivals, which included 135,944 international arrivals.
“Tourism receipts for January 2025 are estimated at RM723.09 million, reflecting a 23.0pc increase compared to the same period in 2024,” she added.
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