Sepanggar can be catalyst of Sabah’s economy

KOTA KINABALU: Sepanggar can be the catalyst of Sabah’s economy, said Barisan Nasional’s (BN) candidate for the parliamentary seat, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan said.

And the caretaker minister in charge of the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) Abdul Rahman said that he likes Sepanggar because it matches his ministerial DNA.

He likens Sepanggar to a ‘canvas’ that he can be creative on as all the economic tools that are available within his jurisdiction as the EPU minister can be utilized in Sepanggar.

“Sepanggar provides a very unique opportunity for me to help the state government to strengthen its economic base. The tools available to me are better utilized in Sepanggar whether it is budget or expertise,” he said.

According to him, the EPU can plan what is good for Sepanggar vis-a-vis the future development of Sabah.

Abdul Rahman said that the state government needs to take advantage of some of the things that Sabah has for example its geographical location.

The state government, he stressed, has a very strong tourism policy but moving forward we need to take advantage of Sabah’s location.

“This is a strategic location to become a low-cost airline hub for example. I think we should we need to make Sabah as a hub for low-cost airlines, just like Dubai as the hub for premium commercial airlines.

“To him, regulations, government policies are not meant to just guide us as they are not cast in stone.

“I believe in order for us to move ahead, we must be able to compromise, able to mould the guidelines to our advantage rather than sticking to it and lose out,” he said.

On his job as a EPU minister, Abdul Rahman stressed that he is fortunate to be given this portfolio because it resonates well with the state government’s plan to make Sabah the next engine of growth for Malaysia.

“We have plenty of land, good location, plenty of raw materials as well as resources and I think the next engine of growth will come from Sabah and Sarawak because of all this,” he said.

The two-term Kota Belud Member of Parliament however said that for Sepanggar to grow, there are several issues that the government needs to look at and resolve such as the water supply to the area.

Kota Kinabalu and its surrounding areas including Sepanggar are experiencing challenges in getting treated water supply, he lamented.

“I am very worried about the water supply and this is also a concern of the state government. This is however a problem that is coming from a good thing … the booming economy of Sabah thanks to Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman and the state government’s highly successful policies to attract investors and tourists etc.

There is also the matter of water theft occuring in squatter colonies in Sepanggar and nonrevenue water (NRW) due to leakages, he pointed out.

“My suggestion is maybe we should look at replacing the water pipes instead of building more treatment plants and dams to stop NRW. What is the point of building dams and water treatment plants when half of the water produced is lost due to NRW. Replacement of pipes will be much cheaper and less controversial.

“Building dams and water treatment plants is also something that is not easy because of environmental issues and inevitable objection by the people and that will stifle the effort of the state government to provide this long-term stability in terms of water supply,” he said.

Housing, he said is an issue in Sepanggar as some of the kampung areas here are traditional villagers which have not been gazetted.

“There are some cases where the kampung have been around for a long time and they don’t pose any hindrance to future development of Kota Kinabalu or Sepanggar. I think in those kind of situation the state government should step in and gazette them. Once you resolve the kampung issue, you would have resolved the housing issue,” he opined.

Abdul Rahman added that there is a need to train our people to pick up higher paying income than what they are used to.

“I hope the people of Sepanggar will realise that they need to gain all these skills in order to take advantage of whatever industries that are coming in in the future. I intend to ensure the young people of Sepanggar that every program is meant to upskill and reskill the people,” he stressed.

How to create jobs, he asked? By giving investors incentives to invest in KKIP so that they will come in and create jobs.

“I also believe that, in the current political scenario, Sabah can be a force to be reckoned with,” he said but Sabah needs to do something to be noticed by the leadership.

He explained, when some is at a disadvantage, they need to do something to be noticed, for Sabah, the disadvantage is the distance between the state and Peninsular Malaysia.

“So in the context of this election, we need to be seen and heard and one way to do that is to be united through BN and become one single largest political force. BN is the only platform that is stronger and stable and the potential of winning the federal government is very real,” said Abdul Rahman.

“If you bet on something like Pakatan Harapan or Parti Warisan Sabah, they may or may not win so we are going to be fragmented anyway. But for BN the odds are better so might as well throw our support behind BN as a single block and become the kingmaker, the most influential block as a state,” he stressed.

“How do you make Sabahans understand that we need to change the way we do things here? Sabahans, you see, need to work harder just to be noticed. And what is the meaning of Sabah for Sabah? The slogan itself is not going to do it. You need to have a bigger and deeper understanding what Sabah for Sabah is all about.

“The slogan will not work out if it is exclusive. The whole world is opening up but here we want to look inward. What we should do is produce capable human capital in whatever field whether it is politics, industry, entertainment, businesses, go out and conquer and bring the flag out there instead of saying ‘Hey I am a jaguh kampung’.

“This is where I believe the new generation in Sabah must understand in order to be good, you should be good outside not just in the state,” he stressed.

Abdul Rahman also expressed his gratitude to Musa and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for having a good, stable and progressive forward looking policy that will help Sepanggar create the economic base.

“I want to speak to Najib about the anchor investors … if they have big investors from overseas, I want them to go to Sabah in particular Sepanggar,” he said, adding that he will be fighting for more incentives from the state and federal governments for businesses to grow in Sepanggar.