Chew (right) and Johnny presenting a souvenir to Christina for officiating Shareda’s 40th Ruby Anniversary on Saturday.
KOTA KINABALU: The new Sabah Government is well aware of the plight of the state’s property development industry and it has begun its quest to fix the problems, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal said.
“I would like to assure the people, particularly the movers and shakers of the business world present here, that ‘yes, we received the message’; we got you, and we are taking action to make things better,” Shafie said at the Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association’s (Shareda) 40th Ruby Anniversary on Saturday.
He pointed out that this could be seen through the series of decisions that his administration had made in the first three months of its governance.
“For example, we have taken steps to expedite the process of approving development plans by decentralizing the approving power to the local authorities. We have set about looking into deepening our important economic sectors.
“One example is in timber where we have imposed a ban on the export of round logs to encourage downstream industries. We are revisiting the old adage that industrialisation is the way to not just creating jobs, but jobs that pay good wages,” Shafie said in his speech, read by his deputy Christina Liew.
Shafie stressed that the State Government shares the housing developers’ concern in creating a virtuous cycle in the state’s economy, in which there are jobs and opportunities in business to create new wealth.
“You can see that the various ministers have been speaking about this, and I encourage you to find the right forum to present your expert views and share your experience with the government,” he added.
He said the State Government desired to regain market and business confidence as well as to increase the income and purchasing power of the people.
“We need all hands on deck. With your experiences and resources under your control, the members of Shareda are capable of being big-part players as we seek to bring about changes to the business, social and political landscape in Sabah,” Shafie, who is also State Finance Minister said.
In his speech, Shafie had also commented on the need for change during the recent election, whereby he said that the people no longer wanted ‘business as usual’.
“The developers wanted the approval of development plans to be expedited for housing development. They also wanted the issue of strata titles and delay in issuance of occupation certificates to be dealt with.
“Generally, the people were tired of corruption and abuse of power. They did not like the feeling that the government was calling the shots and leaving the people as outsiders,” Shafie said.
He concluded that the people, especially those in the business community, wanted to be looked upon as partners and they wanted the processes to be transparent and the playing field be made even.
Among those present in the event were Shareda president Chew Sang Hai and Shareda vice president Johnny Wong Chen Yee cum Shareda Nite 2018 organisng chairman as well as other state ministers and department leaders.