Kota Kinabalu: Sabah’s East Coast could enter a golden era of prosperity if the state fully capitalises on the return of peace in the Southern Philippines and the emergence of the oil and gas industry along its eastern coast, said SAPP president Datuk Yong Teck Lee.
The former chief minister said the strategic location of Sabah’s existing seaports, coupled with the ongoing construction of the Pan-Borneo Highway, provided the state with an opportunity to turn peace, oil and gas and infrastructure development into economic growth similar to the timber boom of the 1970s.
Illustrations of the Mutiara Cluster among the oil and gas development.He said after half a century of violent conflict, peace and order had finally returned to the Southern Philippines provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, which are Sabah’s immediate neighbours.
“Sulu was officially declared a province of Stable Internal Peace and Security (SIPS) by the Philippine national government, an achievement that had eluded Sulu for two generations.
“This return of peace in the Southern Philippines coincides nicely with the security status of Sabah’s East Coast being graded at Level 1 (the safest level) in a recent Travel Advisory by the US followed by other countries,” he said.
Yong said the return of peace and order also coincided with the emergence of oil and gas in the Sulu Sea on both sides of the Malaysia-Philippines border.
“The new-found offshore natural gas at Sandakan can be piped onshore to power the industrialisation of the East Coast.
“Oil and gas are also being actively explored in Lahad Datu and Tawau.
“This oil and gas industry will spur onshore supply bases and other supporting industries such as the Free Industrial Zone at POIC Lahad Datu, creating quality jobs, new trade and new cargo for the seaports.
“The Lahad Datu new airport and upgrading of Tawau airport will increase connectivity to the East Coast, hence enhancing tourism businesses,” he added.
However, Yong said Sabah must not repeat past mistakes, particularly losing the palm oil industry to non-Sabah companies.
“Because the palm oil industry is now mainly owned by non-Sabah companies, little benefits are retained in the local economy.
He added how Sabah companies must take ownership of the emerging energy and tourism sectors and the emerging blue economy.
He said both the Southern Philippines and Sabah shared the same components of the blue economy, namely fisheries and aquaculture, maritime renewable energy, marine tourism, and coastal and maritime logistics.
“Therefore, we can collaborate with the Southern Philippines to maximise Sabah’s Blue Economy,” he said.
Meanwhile, Yong said Sabah also needed a paradigm shift among its security policymakers to view the East Coast as a region of peace and prosperity that contributes to national wellbeing.
“The past decades of violent conflicts in the Southern Philippines are now turning into a golden era of peace, order and prosperity.
“We should ride this wave of progress from poverty to prosperity,” he said.
