PENAMPANG: Sabah has what it takes to turn its fortunes around and the historic declaration of Sabah Day could well mark the turning point in terms of Sabahans’ belief, mindset and commitment to the goal, says a GRS government leader.
Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat) Moyog Division Chief Ceasar Mandela Malakun believes it is not an impossible mission so long as Sabahans stay united to the cause and there is genuine political stability.
“In the first two years, we have achieved many successes in terms of the MA63. But we must continue to focus on making Sabah a high income and developed State.
“We don’t want to be second poorest State anymore,” he said after presenting state and national flags to the public at ITCC Mall in conjunction with the month-long national Independence Day and maiden Sabah Day celebrations, both of which fall on Aug 31.
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“The GRS State Government, which has been working hard to cement political stability and social unity in Sabah, has the track record to show that it can achieve the goal,” he said.
Some of the significant milestones by the GRS State Government in relation to the MA63, he said, involved securing bigger share of revenues from the oil and gas sector in the State and seeing SMJ Sdn Bhd, a company wholly owned by the State Government, being assigned a AAA rating by RAM Ratings to raise RM10 billion worth of sukuk after the company was regarded as highly strategic to the State Government as the vehicle to champion the State’s oil and gas resources.
He also noted that the GRS government has managed to increase the state revenue to RM7 billion, the highest ever in Sabah’s history.
“And now, we’re going to celebrate Sabah Day, which Sabahans have been looking forward to for a very long time.
“All these (achievements related to the MA63) have been made possible by the GRS government. We’ve entered a new and exciting chapter in our history.
With good intentions and continuously working hard coupled with strategic planning, we can bring Sabah to become a developed state.
“Our trajectory in the next five to 10 years is to take Sabah out from the bottom two and aim to be among the top three (states in the country). We are always mindful that we need to manage the State properly,” said Mandela.
He stressed the need to maintain political stability in the State as a fundamental condition towards becoming a high income and prosperous state.
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