KOTA KINABALU: Bumiputera entrepreneurs in Sabah are as successful as their peers in other states, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.
He added that through the Barisan Nasional (BN) government’s efforts, the living standards of people in Sabah, especially the Bumiputeras, have seen much growth, he said when officiating at a forum for Bumiputera entrepreneurs here yesterday.
The improvement is reflected in the increase in the average household income in Sabah from RM3,102 a month in 2009 to RM4,013 a month in 2012.
This showed an increase of 29.4 per cent with an annual growth of 8.6 per cent, Muhyiddin said, adding that the average monthly income had also increased by 22.7 per cent from RM3,803 in 2009 to RM4,668 in 2012.
In the case of the rural areas, the average monthly income increased by 33.8 per cent from RM2,177 in 2009 to RM2,913 while the poverty rate in Sabah had decreased from 19.7 per cent in 2009 to 8.1 per cent in 2012.
“This is the data that we have recorded and not data that is pulled out of the air by economists. So if there are quarters who go around claiming that there is no economic growth in Sabah, we can prove them wrong as we have the facts and figures to show differently,” he said.
“Congratulations to the Chief Minister of Sabah, Datuk Seri Musa Aman, for the success in making life better for the people in the state. Sabah will continue to develop and progress under Barisan Nasional,” Muhyiddin added.
He pointed out that the government’s success in reducing and eradicating poverty was achieved through the implementation of specific programs to assist the poor and low income earners to generate a higher income.
Among the programs were 1AZAM, Agropolitan development, Mini Estet Sejahtera, commercial livestock breeding and agriculture as well as micro credit loans, he said.
For Sabah, the federal Government had allocated RM12.2 billion under the 10th Malaysia Plan for the implementation of various programs, including rural infrastructure, educational programs and housing assistance under the Government Transformation Program (GTP), he said.
Muhyiddin added that this had indirectly opened up more opportunities for Sabahan entrepreneurs to be more active in economic activities.
“Under the GTP programs Sabah has achieved successes in social development and infrastructure in the state, including the construction and upgrading of 1,270 kilometres of rural roads and the supply of electricity to an additional 41,443 houses in the rural areas since 2010.
“As steps to assist the low income group to generate income, a total of RM293.5 million has been allocated to Sabah under the 1AZAM program. As of June this year, a total 27,540 low income individuals in Sabah have received assistance under the program making them the largest number of recipients.
“The government realizes that the achievement of the Bumiputera entrepreneurs is not at what we expect it to be as there is still disparity in the aspect of economical asset ownership and the level of revenue,” Muhyiddin added.
According to him, among the challenges faced by new entrepreneurs in Sabah was the limited market and they have to join forces with their counterparts in Peninsular Malaysia in order to be able to compete at local and global markets.
To this end, Bumiputera entrepreneurs in Sabah venture out of the small markets and establish smart partnerships with their non-Bumiputera peers so that they can explore bigger markets.