KOTA KINABALU: It is vital to strengthen and improve the existing rapport between the federal and state government in order to further develop Sabah in various fields.
The call came from Head of State, Tun Juhar Mahiruddin, in his opening address while launching the 14th State Assembly sitting here, yesterday. The TYT also called on the assemblymen to highlight issues that is for the people’s best interest, as well as the state and nation.
“I hope that all plans will be executed successfully for the good of the people and state. And, with the blessings from Allah, we will continue to live in peace and harmony,” he said.
Tun Juhar noted that the existing good rapport had contributed to the quick action from both governments to the setting up of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) and the Eastern Sabah Safety Zone (ESSZONE) at strategic locations to beef up security measures in the state.
“There was a need to rid the negative perception on economy following the stand-off in Lahad Datu besides regaining the trust of both the investors and foreign tourists to visit or do business in Sabah.
“But I believe that through the concerted efforts by all ministries, government agencies and relevant authorities, things would return to normal and we would once again win the trust of the people, our visitors and the investors,” he said.
Having said that, Tun Juhar noted that the number of tourist arrivals in the first four months this year had shown at least 6.6 per cent increase compared to the similar period in 2012.
“We have set a target of three million visitors that would generate RM5.42 billion to the state this year, and between January and April alone, we have already recorded 967,183 tourists arrivals. This positive increase showed that, in fact, the intrusion incident at Kampung Tanduo in Lahad Datu is seen as an isolated case, thanks to the prompt action by the federal and state governments in setting up the Sabah Tourism Task Force to propose strategies and action plans to overcome the fallout from the incident,” he said.
One of its efforts was to talk with the foreign representatives on the negative travel advisories issued that were subsequently retracted by the United States of America and Britain.
On agriculture, Tun Juhar also hoped that paddy cultivation would be given priority in Sabah although the cost to produce local rice is more expensive than the price of imported rice.
He also encouraged the government to continue developing the ruminant industry in Sabah, considering that the biomass and existing food resources in the state are free from diseases.
“It is my hope that those involved in the livestock industry will take strict biosecurity and preventive steps to prevent the outbreak of zootonic, exotic and other diseases in the state. This is to ensure our competitive advantages in the livestock industry in this region,” Tun Juhar advised.
He also urged the state government to continue improving the infrastructure facilities in Sabah so as to encourage more investors to come and do business here, in line with the effort to meet the RM5.44 billion investment target for 2013.
Tun Juhar added that of the figure, some RM2.5 billion is expected to be realised through the Sipitang Oil and Gas Industrial Park, Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (RM1 billion), Lahad Datu Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (RM415 million), Sandakan POIC (RM328 million), and RM1.2 billion from the manufacturing sector.
“Oil and gas are the biggest contributor to the state’s Gross Domestic Product and it is expected to grow with the discovery of new oil fields within Sabah waters. This sector is expected to lure in at least RM30 billion worth of investment. Both upstream and downstream projects should continue to be given attention,” he said.
He said the state government’s good governance and good track record, especially in financial management, has placed Sabah third in the list of highest investments in the manufacturing sector last year, after Selangor and Johor.
Tun Juhar also noted that through the government’s various development programmes, it has successfully reduced the hardcore poor rate from 19.7 per cent in 2009 to 8.1 per cent last year.