Kota Kinabalu: Sabah is eyeing a future built on more than just oil and gas, with plans to tap the full potential of the Blue Economy, Green Economy and Digital Economy to build a more diversified and resilient State revenue base.
“Sabah should move past tourism and fisheries into modern aquaculture, marine biotechnology, the maritime industry and renewable technology under the Blue Economy,” said State Finance Ministry’s Under Secretary (Finance and Economics Division) Musleha Khairunisa Muluk.
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“We want to see the Blue Economy cover modern aquaculture, marine biotechnology, the maritime industry, renewable technology and more,” she said at the Sankalpa Sabah 2030 Forum on the implementation of the SMJ 2.0 strategy held at the Sabah International Convention Centre, here.
She said Sabah holds strong potential in the green and digital economies, particularly in carbon trading, clean energy, green data centres, artificial intelligence and digital industries, in line with the global shift toward low carbon and high technology economies.
She said Sabah’s state revenue has grown over 50 per cent since 2022, reaching a record RM7 billion and placing the State second highest in revenue collection nationwide.
“We are on the right track, a good track and we are ranked second among all the states,” she said, adding that the achievement shows the Sabah Government’s effective use of its constitutional powers.
“This proves that our government is making good use of the powers granted to the State Government,” she said.
She said the introduction of the State Sales Tax in 1999, followed by the extension of the tax to petroleum products in 2022, has given a positive boost to State revenue collection.
She said the tax can only be collected by Sabah and Sarawak among all the states in Malaysia, giving both states a unique fiscal advantage.
She said although petroleum and palm oil remain major contributors to State revenue, both are highly dependent on global commodity prices and currency fluctuations, and the State must look for more resilient income sources beyond these two sectors.
“Sabah must attract higher quality investment that brings not only capital but also technology, expertise, skilled jobs and stronger local supply chains,” she said.
“Sabah must become the destination of choice for high value industries that bring not just capital, but also technology, expertise, high income job opportunities and local supply chain development,” she said, adding that downstream processing industries should be developed within Sabah so that value is created locally instead of exporting raw materials.
She said achieving this transformation requires a whole of government approach, with all ministries, departments, local authorities and government linked companies playing their part in attracting investment, developing infrastructure, managing natural resources, strengthening human capital and speeding up service delivery.
She said the Ministry will continue to ensure fiscal policy and the State’s revenue ecosystem support these efforts, providing a strong financial foundation for development initiatives to be carried out effectively.
For record, the Sankalpa Sabah 2030 forum is held under the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) 2.0 framework, the State’s strategic development roadmap for 2026 - 2030.
Building on the recovery and stabilisation efforts achieved under SMJ 1.0, the forward-looking plan aims to strengthen Sabah’s economic competitiveness, accelerate infrastructure growth and uplift local communities.
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