50,000 job opportunities expected for Sabah’s southern region
KOTA KINABALU: The 25 Entry Points Point Projects (EPPs) proposed for the southern region of the state are expected to generate about 50,000 job opportunities for the people there.
Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman said these were direct employment opportunities in the sectors involved.
Speaking to reporters after a briefing on EPPs by a lab on the development plans for the southern region of Sabah, Musa said he was happy with the results of the output discussion of the lab as it was thorough and indepth.
“Based on the results of the lab, I am confident that its objective is achieved,” he said adding that the objective of the study was to identifyuniqueopportunitiesthat could stimulate economic growth and contribute to achieving the aspirations of Sabah’s Long Term Strategic Action Plan (Sabah LEAP) 2016-2035.
“I am also satisfied with the 25 Entry Points Point Projects proposed for the economic sectors that are the main focus, which are agriculture, oil palm industry and tourism. I am confident that the EPP projects proposed by the lab are capable of generating the targeted Gross National Income (GNI) and reach RM24.905 billion in 2025,” he said.
Musa added that he was proud with the private sector’s commitment as the main economic generator through investments in projects under the three economic sectors that are the lab’s focus.
He said the state government was always assisting the private sector to realise the projects proposed by the lab.
“I am confident that with the setting up of the delivery unit or the EPP Steering Committee and the proposed monitoring mechanism as well as the cooperation from all ministries, departments and agencies, we will be able to achieve the target outlined in the southern region development plan by 2035,” Musa who is also Finance Minister added.
Also present were Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan, Minister of Special Tasks Datuk Seri Teo Chee Kang, the President and CEO of Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) Associates, Datuk Seri Idris Jala, State Secretary Tan Sri Sukarti Wakiman, Federal Secretary to Sabah, Datuk Nor Rizan Mohd Thani and Sabah’s Director of Economic Planning Unit, Datuk Osman Jamal.