Sabah recorded a total of RM6.5 billion in investments last year, with 38.7% contributed by the manufacturing sector, said Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Musa Aman during his policy speech at the opening ceremony of the Fifth Term of the 16th Sabah State Legislative Assembly.
He said the figures clearly showed that the Sabah government’s initiatives to develop the manufacturing sector were yielding results, successfully attracting more investors to the state. Musa emphasised the manufacturing sector’s continued importance in stimulating the state’s economy, including facilitating technology integration, strengthening infrastructure, and creating employment opportunities.
“To that end, focus will be given to developing more downstream activities in key industries including that of biomass, oil palm, industrial tree plantations and oil and gas,” he said. “By encouraging the expansion of these sectors, Sabah also has the potential to attract more investments thus stimulating more sustainable economic growth for the state.”
Also present at the state assembly were Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and Sabah State Assembly Speaker Datuk Seri Kadzim M. Yahya.
Musa said the state also managed to maintain its revenue collection above the RM6 billion threshold, reaching RM6.842 billion last year. He added that the state government had imposed a state sales tax on three new products — silica sand, palm oil biomass brought out of Sabah, and gold and silver mined in the state — as part of efforts to diversify its revenue sources and reduce dependency on oil and gas-related resources.
He also said that the state government had outlined a strategic direction for Sabah’s development over five years under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), focusing on priority areas that serve as pillars for the state’s long-term growth. Musa urged all ministries, departments and state agencies to take proactive measures in planning development in alignment with this strategic direction to ensure that Sabah’s real needs are given priority.
In line with this, he said the government would focus on implementing programmes and projects oriented towards development spending to support the smooth rollout of the 13MP. He noted that this commitment aligns with efforts to enhance the state’s financial management by increasing development expenditure relative to operating expenditure.
“With this effort, the achievement of the state’s economic development goals will be accelerated,” he said. “I am confident that, with full cooperation from all parties, the process of preparing the 13MP will be able to run smoothly and orderly by taking into account various perspectives and needs, thereby laying a solid foundation for the sustainable and inclusive development of Sabah.”
