SABAH BUSINESS FRIENDLY – MUSA

KOTA KINABALU: The State Government will continue to formulate policies and procedures that support a business friendly environment, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman.

Being the second largest state in Malaysia, he said there are vast opportunities in Sabah especially in agriculture, tourism and manufacturing as well as oil and gas.

“These sectors are mapped out under several initiatives like the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) and the federal government-led Economic Transformation Programme (ETP),” he said during a meeting with Wu Bangguo, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China here yesterday.

Wu is also chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC).

Musa who is also Finance Minister said under SDC, Sabah was promoting economic growth based on the strengths of the different regions in the state and with focus on proper management of natural resources and environmental sustainability.

Sabah, he added, was in the process of transforming its economy from one that was purely resource-based to one that was more diversified and driven by knowledge, innovation and productivity.

The Chief Minister said in manufacturing, Sabah’s focus was to leverage on agriculture, biomass and the oil and gas industry. He also said Sabah was the largest producer of crude palm oil in Malaysia and that the Palm Oil Industrial Cluster in the east coast was one avenue for the state to venture into downstream processing of palm oil products.

“We are also promoting the development of petrochemical and gas-based industries through SOGT (Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal) and SAMUR (Sabah Ammonia Urea Plant) in the west coast. Musa also told the senior Chinese leader that early this year Sabah received interest from two prominent U.S.-based firms.

Dole Food – the world’s largest producer and marketer of fresh fruits and vegetables – had expressed interest to invest more than RM1 billion in Sabah.

The Chief Minister added that the hospitality and tourism industry was one of the primary income-generating sectors.

Sabah, he said has proven to be a popular destination for the Chinese “and I see increased cooperation in this sector”. Musa also informed the Chinese leader that it was recently announced that Sabah was the most successful state in attracting private investment in the country.

For the first quarter of this year, Sabah managed to attract some RM10 billion in investment, way ahead of other states – and this is because the Sabah State Government is stable, business friendly and prudent.

“Another reason voiced by investors especially those from Europe and U.S. is that our environment is still protected…we have clean air, unpolluted waters and we have in place stringent forest laws as well as a strong conservation progamme,” the Chief Minister said.

Meanwhile, Musa said Sabah had anticipated closer ties and cooperation with China as the business relationship had grown stronger.

“Visits from China including by another senior leader of the NPC, Jia Quinling in April this year, and the recent participation by Malaysians at the trade and investment fairs in China and vice-versa had created opportunities and expanded the network for cooperation,” Musa said.

He also stressed that the State Government enjoyed close relations with the Federal Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, and that billions of ringgit had been channeled for infrastructure development including building better roads and utilities as well as improving the public delivery system.

Later at a press conference, Musa expressed his appreciation to Wu for visiting Sabah.

“There are many opportunities which we can explore together in Sabah,” he said.

Musa also said Wu felt that Sabah has big potential in the resources and tourism sectors and that many more visitors would come to Malaysia including Sabah.

And according to him, the visit by Wu was very meaningful because he was a very high-ranking leader. “We welcome him and we hope more leaders from China will visit Sabah.”

Also present yesterday were Deputy Chief Minister, Datuk Dr Yee Moh Chai, Minister of Industrial Development, Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Datuk Masidi Manjun and State Secretary, Tan Sri Sukarti Wakiman.

Source: newsabahtimes.com.my