Sabah Development Corridor (SDC)
Datuk Dr Mohd Yaakub Johari, Sedia CEO
Launched back in 2008 to enhance the quality of life of Sabahans, the SDC aims to accelerate the growth of Sabah’s economy, promote regional balance and bridge the rural-urban divide while ensuring sustainable management of the state’s resources.
“When the idea of a Sabah corridor was introduced, I was heading the state’s think-tank. We have been planning the development of the state for quite a while and we were fully aware of the consequences of imbalanced development, as well as the lack of investment in infrastructure,” said Datuk Dr Mohd Yaakub Johari, the CEO of Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (Sedia).
In this regard, he believed that the notion that the federal government was prepared to listen to the state government authorities about appropriate developmental models had been very well received. It had allowed Sedia to move ahead much quicker than would otherwise be the case.
However, Mohd Yaakub noted that the region was still lacking in terms of infrastructure but believed that it took time to invest in the area.
“However, we essentially decided to see all the natural assets we have as a possibility for a quick win. That is why we have focused on tourism in the region. We have access to the coral triangle, for example, which has global significance, with some of the richest marine and coral life in the world,” said the CEO.
He highlighted that the region also boasted the Maliau Basin, part of the Heart of Borneo project; together with Kalimantan, Sarawak and Brunei, it was close to the size of the Amazon, in terms of continuous area of pristine rainforest, and it was the oldest rainforest in the world, comprising 200,000 hectares of untouched rainforest.
RESOURCE RICH: Mohd Yaakub says Sabah is resource rich, with a little bit of infrastructure spending, the development potential can be unlocked.
“The people are very welcoming, so that is why we have been doubling the number of tourists every four years,” Mohd Yaakub said.
Another focus that the SDC had was agriculture. The substantial land mass available in the region provided vast opportunities for the development of the agricultural sector.
Mohd Yaakub believed that that was something Sedia could focus on to help redress the existing regional imbalances. It was essentially an endowment it possessed which was yet to be put to full use.
According to Sedia, in acreage terms, 20 per cent of oil palm activities was in Sabah and there still was potential to expand the volume. Apart from tourism and agriculture, Mohd Yaakub highlighted that the authority had also been targeting manufacturing and logistics.
“I am happy to say that we have been able to get all the necessary flagship projects moving, such as the Palm Oil Industrial Clusters, Keningau Integrated Livestock Centre, Sabah Agro-Industrial Precinct, Oil and Gas Clusters and Tourism Gold Coast Enclave,” he added.
The CEO believed that development in Sabah had historically been very fragmented, attributable to geographical positioning as there was a massive length of highlands separating the western part of Sabah and the central area.
“Each has its own respective endowment. Our task is to focus on all of these areas with development potential, get the infrastructure in place and get the private sector into them.
“So we are very rich, resource-wise. With a little bit of infrastructure spending, targeted at specific locations, we can unlock the development potential, the process will act as a locomotive to drive the rural sector. What is needed now is to get more support from the federal government in terms of infrastructure such as airports and airline access,” Mohd Yaakub remarked.