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Musa (2nd right) speaking at the session while Ghani (left) Nazir (2nd left) and Lim look on. The three leaders expounded on the factors that led to their states’ progressive growth and why they should be the choice locations for investments
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2nd July, 2009
KUALA LUMPUR: Despite the gloomy global economic outlook, Sabah has never been in a stronger position as it is today.
The state government is facing the current economic challenges from a position of strength.
And, Sabah’s reserve has strengthened from a dismal state to about RM2.35 billion by end of last year, and it has been improving.
Speaking at the Invest Malaysia 2009 CIMB Plenary Session here yesterday, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman said the state was also maintaining strong liquidity with revenue rising and the revenue stream more diversified – that is RM2.8 billion in 2007 and RM3.34 billion last year.
He is one of only three state leaders who were invited to do a presentation on growth centres in Malaysia at the session. The other two are Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ghani Othman and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guang Eng.
The event was attended by some 800 participants comprising corporate figures, industry players and fund managers from all over the world.
Musa who is also Finance Minister added that external trade figures were showing a very healthy surplus annually and that state government linked companies such as Sabah Foundation, Sabah Land Development Board, Sabah Credit Corporation and Sabah Development Bank have been performing well, contributing significantly to state’s coffers and socio-economic well-being. The Sabah Foundation for example has about RM1.5 billion in reserve.
“Even in this trying time, Sabah’s economy is not that badly affected. We are maintaining our GDP forecast for this year at about 3-4 per cent, primarily due to favourable commodity prices and increase in volume, especially plantation crops, crude oil and natural gas,” he said.
Musa also said the relative price and economic stability has continued to provide a conducive environment for growth and development, and that over the past few years, Sabah had been consistently registering a GDP growth of five to seven per cent.
This performance, he said could be attributed to the following factors:
- The relation between the state and federal governments is at its best;
- The state government is guided by a coherent development agenda, known as the Halatuju;
- Federal government initiatives implemented, such as the economic corridor and fiscal stimulus initiatives fit in well with the state agenda;
- The state has been enjoying political stability. The One Malaysia concept initiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, has indeed been well ingrained in Sabah’s multi-racial society, and has been the cornerstone of the state’s development agenda.
The Chief Minister said given the situation, Sabah was poised to become not only a premier destination for business, but also for culture and nature, thereby benefiting the tourism industry.
“Our new international airport in the capital city of Kota Kinabalu is ready and this fits in well with our plans to attract more international tourists and people who are interested in doing business in Sabah.
“And I am also pleased to say here that the tourism industry has hardly been affected by the global economic slowdown, as indicated by the rate of tourist arrivals up to now,” he said.
As a matter of fact, he disclosed that Sabah registered increasing tourist arrivals from Singapore, U.S., Canada, Germany, Finland, Switzerland and New Zealand between January and April this year as compared to the same period last year.
And, during this period, the overall tourist arrivals had declined only slightly from about 730,000 to 710, 000 or 2.7%.
“Moving forward, the State will continue to optimise the initiatives of the federal and state governments to create business friendly environment to attract foreign and domestic investments to drive the state and the nation to greater heights for the benefit and well-being of Malaysians and all stakeholders.
Musa also shared with all those present the development agenda which the state has put in motion which sets out the development vision and strategic direction of the state economy up to 2015.
The development vision and strategic direction is encapsulated in the document known as Halatuju Pembangunan dan Kemajuan Negeri Sabah or the Strategic Development Agenda and Progress for Sabah.
The Halatuju or the Strategic Development Agenda takes into account the following concerns:
- In the past, there was no clear focus on economic development agenda.
- There was political instability.
- Sabah is rich in factor endowments, natural resources, culture and nature;
- The need to address issues like poverty, high cost of doing business and capacity gap;
- Enabling conditions, especially infrastructure, human capital and delivery services.
The Halatuju Agenda introduced in 2003, is holistic but focused, comprising the following components:
- Economic thrust that emphasises on agriculture, tourism & manufacturing;
- On social development, the focus is on poverty, human capital and culture;
- Political stability that is based on ethnic trust building and power sharing;
- Government administration that strives for efficient delivery, good governance, regional balance and sustainable development
Musa also said the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) and fiscal stimulus initiatives fit in well and complement the Halatuju Agenda.
And together they would provide seamless interface between the state and federal government, as well as between the government and the private sector; facilitate the integration of state economy towards sustainable development and capturing higher value; and promote sustainable development by harnessing the private sector as the engine of economic growth.
”It is indeed gratifying to know that the new economic model to be driven by creativity, innovation and high value as espoused by the Prime Minister is consistent with the Halatuju agenda,” Musa said.
The moderator of the session yesterday was CIMB Bank Group Cheif Executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak.
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