Kota Kinabalu: Sabah’s development plans must be built from the ground up and reflect the actual needs of its people, said Datuk Dr Anis Yusal Yusoff, Executive Director of the International Institute for Public Policy and Management (Inpuma), Universiti Malaya.
Anis, who is also a member of the National Planning Council and Head of the Governance Cluster for RMK13, said solutions must be driven by data, not assumptions.
“I want the planners to see what is really needed by the people. Not what we think they need,” he said after moderating a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) on inputs for the 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK13) at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});He described the role of the RMK13 technical team as both a “translator and aggregator” of ground-level inputs, especially from rural communities.
Thirty-three core issues surfaced during the discussion, attended by researchers, civil society organisations, academics and local development players.
Also present were former Director of Insan, Datuk Dr Sa抋dilah Abdillah, and Social and Youth Policy Expert Associate Professor Janice Nga Lay Hui.
Most of which, he said, were still about basic needs such as clean water, electricity, roads, internet and education.
He cautioned that if these needs are not prioritised, RMK13 would risk being disconnected from reality.
Anis noted that many community aspirations today echo the same issues brought up during the Vision 2020 era.
“That means the problems were not solved. That抯 why people repeat them. We cannot blame them. It is because the needs are still unfulfilled,” he said.
He also pointed out that despite various government development blueprints, there remains an implementation gap.
“We can talk about big plans. But if the execution is not right, we will always go back to the drawing board every five years,” Anis said.
He reminded participants that true development is not just about infrastructure but also integrity and inclusive governance.
He praised local efforts by UMS and other Sabah-based academics and NGOs who consistently push to bridge the gap between policy and practice.
“Sabah is rich in social capital. What we need is to connect it with political will and effective delivery,” he said.
He expressed hope that the RMK13 process would genuinely capture the diversity of voices from all across Sabah and empower more local leaders to take ownership of solutions.
“Let us not write a plan for the sake of planning. Let us write one that truly works,” he said.
