TAN Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia said he is encouraged by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Haji Noor’s advice to take up the challenge of seeing the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) becoming a success in this decade.
He said Hajiji could not see any development taking place in BIMP-EAGA after more than 27 years in existence since its set up in 1994,” said Pandikar.
Pandikar is the Sabah State’s Special Envoy to BIMP-EAGA. He was previously the Speaker of Parliament.
“Now we have a chief minister who has an open mind and is very inclusive, just like (Indonesian) President Jokowi,” said Pandikar, who rues that when BIMP-EAGA is talked about in West Malaysia or when MPs debate on it in Parliament, many do not grasp the concept as it is Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan centric being Malaysia’s underdeveloped regions.
He said Asean leaders hope there will be a free flow of goods with unfettered access connectivity likening the Asean Community to what the European Community has achieved.
“How do you have smooth connectivity if you don’t have the infrastructure? If you don’t have the ferries, if you don’t have the airports, if you don’t have the seaports, how do you do that, how do you achieve your objective?
“I found out there are flaws in it. Particularly the structure of power. Malaysia is a member of BIMP-EAGA. But the centre of power is located in Putrajaya. The person in charge is the Minister of Economy. When there is a meeting of the top leaders of Asean and ministers meet as advised by such ministers, they do not talk about the detailed microeconomics of Sabah and Sarawak and other parts of BIMP-EAGA.
“Businessmen understand the hard reality on the ground. If you don’t provide the infrastructure, so, whose fault is it? It is the fault of the government or the government’s civil servants who do not understand how the mechanism works,” Pandikar lamented, noting that it is opportune to act now to take advantage of the move of Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara into the BIMP-EAGA location in Kalimantan.
Hajiji and Pandikar were very determined that, while the Federal Government has yet to commit the required funds to realise the CIQ complex for Sabah’s border crossing with Kalimantan, the planned project needs to be developed soonest.
* Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss.
* Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
