A Promising Year For Sabah : 2023

KOTA KINABALU: Government expenditure is always one of major economic drivers in Sabah, therefore, the extra tax revenue collected from petroleum sales, shall be properly spent under GRS government’s Sabah Maju Jaya directive, in order to maximise and accelerate progress.

Sabah, with the biggest budget in history, RM5.138b (additional RM538m, or 11.7% more than RM4.6b for 2022), year 2023 will be full of potential.

People are expecting a better governmental delivery with such financial empowerment, while public servants shall be more accountable.

Tourism is one of the top grossing industries in Sabah, and we are going to regain this strength in 2023.

China, used to be one of the biggest tourist groups to Sabah, will reopen its national border on 8 January 2023 post-covid-19, allowing its citizens to visit Sabah again.

Lunar New Year (or Chinese New Year, CNY) will be in January, which may kick start Sabah’s tourism industry, which was near dormant for years after the enforcement of nationwide Movement Control Order (MCO).

Our tourism products, especially eco-tourism, remain intact, functional and ready to welcome tourists from around the world, including China.

Sabah oil and gas downstream industries are expected to generate more jobs and sustainable income for the state, with the Sipitang nearshore LNG facility project inked, and others in the pipeline.

East Malaysia Crude Palm Oil Futures (FEPO) that offer physical delivered commodity derivatives contracts empowered the development of palm oil industries, as well as logistic and seaports in Sabah.

We are getting back Sabah’s autonomous rights piece by piece, which open up more possibilities and economic sectors, and we shall continue to stand firm on MA63 issues.

Recent years, we witnessed some drastic climate hazards, such as heavier rain, serious floods, landslides, and more frequent seismic activities on The Land Below The Wind.

As Sabah residents, we must be more alert and concerned about environmental issues, any development must respect sustainability, together, we can prevent any environmental catastrophe from happening.

In Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), we always embrace our motto: “United We Build, Together We Progress”. May this spirit guide us toward promising year 2023.