Sabah needs federal govt’s assistance for state development

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah needs the federal government’s assistance to empower the enablers of the state’s development and growth, says State Infrastructure Development Minister Datuk Peter Anthony.

He said this included supporting the enablers in the development of infrastructure, basic utilities and the logistics network such as roads, train tracks and ports.

“The state government aims to stimulate existing development plans, which could be better implemented with the support from the federal government.

“A rapid economic growth will attract more investors and generate more revenue for the state while creating more jobs for the locals,” he said during a briefing on the state’s development, which was also attended by Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali here yesterday.

The Economic Planning Unit from the Economic Affairs Ministry and the Sabah Economic Planning Unit also participated in the briefing.

Peter said Sabah’s gross domestic product ( GDP) currently stands at RM80 billion, placing it in the fifth spot among the states in terms of contributions to the nation’s GDP.

“However, the state still has the highest poverty and unemployment rates in the nation at 2.9 per cent and 5.6 per cent, respectively.

“As such, development in the state should be intensified - especially in the rural areas, in order to reduce the socio- economic gap between the rural and urban areas,” he said, adding 40 per cent of Sabah’s 3.85 million population lived in the rural areas. — Bernama