KENINGAU: The State Government has allocated nearly RM1 billion for the development of the agricultural, industrial and tourism sectors which continue to be among the main drivers of Sabah’s economic growth this year.
In this regard, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor wants district officers to identify the economic potential in their respective areas.
“There are districts that have strengths in agriculture. Some have tourism potential. Some have marine resources. Some have potential in industry and trade. This potential must be identified and developed in a planned manner.
“Our task is to ensure that this potential can be translated into investment opportunities, jobs and increased income for the people,” he said when opening the 29th Sabah District Officers’ Conference, here, Monday.
Hajiji sees the Blue Economy as an area that has great potential, particularly in rural areas.
“Sabah has vast marine resources, biodiversity and coastal areas. This potential must be harnessed prudently to create new economic opportunities and increase the income of the community.
“I hope the district officers can help identify the potential and facilitate investments that suit the needs and strengths of each district,” he said.
For this year, Hajiji said the State Government has a development allocation ceiling of RM12.02 billion for 1,173 programmes and projects under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), the highest in the history of the Sabah Budget.
“The allocation ceiling covers 241 continuation projects and 932 new projects.
“However, the larger the allocation provided, the greater our responsibility to ensure that its implementation is truly effective,” he said.
Therefore, the Chief Minister wants every district officer to pay serious attention to the implementation of projects and programmes in their respective districts.
“Monitoring must be carried out continuously. If there is a problem, it must be identified early, and if there is a delay, the cause must be known and appropriate action must be taken,” he added.
He said district officers and assistant district officers must also change the way they view development success and not just look at the number of approved projects.
“We must look at the impact on the people. Have their problems been resolved? Have their facilities improved? Have economic opportunities increased? Has their quality of life improved? These are the true measures of development success,” he said.
Hajiji assured that rural development will remain among the State Government’s priorities, particularly basic amenities such as roads, water and electricity supply.
“The same applies to housing, education, employment opportunities, entrepreneurship and community economic development. We want to continue narrowing the development gap between urban and rural areas,” he said.
The Chief Minister said the State Government will also continue to strengthen digitalisation in public service delivery.
He congratulated the Sabah Rural Development Ministry on developing the Online Rumah Mesra Sabah Maju Jaya Application, describing it as an important step toward making government service delivery faster, more transparent and people-friendly.
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