Sabah Credit Corporation celebrates 70 years of facilitating businesses
Published on: Tue, Apr 29, 2025 Text Size: George (centre) with the Management team, District Customer Centre Managers, Unit Heads, and former SCC staff during the event. Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Credit Corporation (SCC) continues to strengthen its commitment to empowering small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and fostering closer relationships with customers through three key programmes: the Customer Engagement Day, SME Empowerment Programme, and the DCC Alamesra 2025 Eid al-Fitr Celebration. SCC Chief Executive Officer Datuk George Taitim Tulas, said these programmes were held in conjunction with the 70th Anniversary Expedition of SCC, with the aim of bringing SCC closer to communities across the state. He emphasised that, in addition to commemorating SCC's seven-decade journey since 1955, this celebration also serves as a platform to set a brighter future direction, in line with the changing economic and technological landscape. 'Aside from commemorating SCC's journey over seven decades since 1955, this celebration also serves as a platform to set a brighter future direction, in line with the changes in the economic and technological landscape,' said George during his speech at the Alamesra Customer Centre, on Monday. According to him, SCC is not only providing financing but is also committed to guiding entrepreneurs in financial management, loan application processes and leveraging business opportunities to enhance competitiveness. 'Through the SME Empowerment Programme, we are determined to help create more successful local entrepreneurs, thereby strengthening the economic resilience of the state,' he said. In the Customer Engagement Day programme, SCC offered customers the opportunity to interact directly, share opinions, ask questions, and make suggestions to improve service quality. 'Customer feedback is crucial for SCC to continue innovating and ensuring that our services remain relevant and meet the current needs of the people of Sabah,' George said. The Eid al-Fitr Celebration, also held as part of this programme, reflects SCC's strong relationship with its customers, strategic partners, and the community, as well as fostering a spirit of unity. George reaffirmed that SCC is committed to continuing as a key driver of the State's socio-economic development by empowering the entrepreneurial sector, expanding financing access and adapting to new technologies in its services. 'We will ensure that each initiative is inclusive, fair, and focused on the well-being of the people for the benefit of future generations,' he said, while expressing gratitude to everyone involved in making the programme a success. * Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss. * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Express
a few seconds ago
- Daily Express
Youth development remains key focus in Sabah: CM
Published on: Sunday, August 17, 2025 Published on: Sun, Aug 17, 2025 Text Size: Hajiji, Shahelmey and Awang Ahmad Sah with some of the the attendees at the event. - Pic by CMD PUTATAN: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said the State Government remains committed to safeguarding the interests of youths in Sabah. He said the development of young people has been made a key pillar of the state's Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya, recognising them not only as beneficiaries but also as agents of change. Speaking at the Anak Muda Programme at Dewan Sri Putatan today, Hajiji highlighted that from 2021 to 2025, 14 new initiatives worth RM164.14 million had been introduced, benefiting more than 210,000 students. He said the State Government had provided youth grants, skills training, as well as innovation and entrepreneurship programmes, and today presented a RM300,000 grant to youth NGOs in Putatan to further support their ideas and projects. Earlier, Hajiji also witnessed the handover of the Taman Sempelang, Sembulan Burial Ground gazette to the Sabah Islamic Religious Council and visited the Rumah Mesra SMJ housing project in Kampung Petagas together with Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya and Petagas Assemblyman Datuk Awang Ahmad Sah Awang Sahari. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Daily Express
30 minutes ago
- Daily Express
State allocates RM600,000 for e-hailing workers' EPF accounts
Published on: Sunday, August 17, 2025 Published on: Sun, Aug 17, 2025 Text Size: Hajiji with some of the participants. - Pic by CMD KOTA KINABALU: The State Government will allocate nearly RM600,000 to help e-hailing workers open Employees Provident Fund (EPF) accounts. Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said 11,109 applications had been received from gig workers keen to contribute to the EPF. He made the announcement while officiating Sabah Moto Day 8.0 at Universiti Malaysia Sabah, which this year drew around 60,000 riders and motor enthusiasts from Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei. Hajiji described the gathering as a reflection of shared passion across communities and noted its contribution to the state economy through tourism and related spending. He also reminded participants to prioritise road safety and highlighted that the government had invested RM1.33 billion between 2021 and 2025 in education, talent and skills development to support the state's youth. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Daily Express
7 hours ago
- Daily Express
The Christina-Sabin factor in tourism
Published on: Sunday, August 17, 2025 Published on: Sun, Aug 17, 2025 By: Datuk John Lo Text Size: YES, Thanks to Christina Liew, tourism has fully recovered. More tourists will come. I think so. Justifications: [1] Tourist arrivals and air connectivity have now matched pre-Covid numbers. If not for Trump's madness, they could have been better. [2] Look around KK. Hotel lobbies are busy, Airbnb is booming and Airbnb properties are selling lie hot cakes, queues at seafood restaurants every night. KKIA is overflowing with tourists at peak hours. Tourists are flocking to 'MayBank' in Gaya Street to have their photos taken! [3] KK has the largest tourist arrivals, best air connectivity and unmatched facilities in Borneo for tourists. Yes. Borneo. Better than Brunei, Kuching and all cities in Kalimantan. [4] The SICC which was the brain child of Tun Musa when he was CM, has taken-off very well. Christina has formed the Sabah Convention Bureau which is undertaking promotion of MICE aggressively. Already, MICE is at an unprecedented number. More are coming from 2026 onwards. MICE will bring in higher value tourists to Sabah. [5] Christina has also initiated a few tourism products, the most meaningful to Sabahans in general and KK residents in particular will be the new 22-story iconic Wisma Budaya and the much larger Sabah Cultural Centre in Kinarut. These will become major tourist hotspots. [6] Christina has fought 'tooth and nail' for Sabah to have our own 'Sabah MM2H' and KKIA's RM400m plus from Federal Government for renovation which can, on completion, handle 12m visitors. [7] For the first time, Christina has put sustainable tourism and rural tourism on the map. In terms of contribution to Sabah's economy, Christina has increased tourism revenue for Sabah from RM5.76 billion in 2023 to RM7.28 billion in 2024. Amazing performance! KK Residents are the biggest beneficiaries of Christina's persistence and hard work. [a] Employments and Business Opportunities. The is true. Of the RM7.28 billion tourism revenue in 2024, the largest amount spent by tourists was in KK. The beneficiaries were [1] airlines, [2] hotels [especially 4* and 5*], [3] Airbnb, [4] restaurants [seafood and bak-kut-teh], [5] hawkers, [6]retailers [down to Ice Cream Potong], [7] Grab drivers, [8] importers of fine wine, wagyu beef], [9] SMEs, [10] fishermen, [11] farmers, [12] tour agents, [13] tour guides, [13] 10s of thousands direct and indirect jobs. No fear of contradiction that the tourism industry has benefited almost all KK residents in one way or another. [b] Impressive Returns from Tourism. Exceptionally returns! The Sabah State Budget 2024 allocated the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment RM141.91 million only. Christina has provided critical leadership and guidance to generate tourism revenue of RM7.28 billion for Sabah. A very impressive return of more than 51 times. [c] How Important is tourism? In another perspective, tourism has generated revenue of RM7.28 billion which is larger than the 2024 State Budget [RM5.701 billion] and almost 10pc of Sabah total GDP [RM84.3 billion] in 2024. Any potential for further growth? From practically ZERO base and with little help from Federal Government, Sabah has matured to its present stage, thanks to Chong Kiat Kat and proactively supported by hotel investors and numerous tourism owners. The future is bright. Fortunately, at the same time, KK has Sabin as Mayor. He is progressive and proactive in sorting out KK's myriad problems. Under Sabin, KK is becoming an attractive city. The increasing tourist arrivals stands testimony. With Christina and Sabin, KK is destined for greater things! What's next, which direction for Sabah's tourism? Sabah's tourism has been the 'darling industry' for many years. Christina has brought it back to glory after the devastations by Covid. The industry is vibrant once again! Sabah must not rest on the present laurel, must plough on to achieve higher performance with focus on better value arrivals, higher tourism receipts and value added down-stream. The way forward. Meaningful partnership of Christina and Sabin to transform KK as de-facto tourism capital of Borneo. Never say impossible. Against all odds, KK has grown to be the dominant tourism centre in Borneo. The partnership between Christina and Sabin will further reinforce KK's tourism leadership in Borneo. Tough job but it is possible as both Christina and Sabin have proactive and progressive mindsets. Christina's quiet determination to develop tourism and Sabin to revamp and transform KK, can establish KK as the unrivalled tourism capital in Borneo. They can do it with solid support from tourism owners. Why tourism owners must work with Christina and Sabin? Here are some good reasons: [1] Due to inflation and other economic factors, cost for tourism owners are constantly rising. [2] Staff are expecting increases or they will seek places. [3] Rising cost and cheapie pricing can only squeeze profit margin. [4] They are not doing justifications to their investment/shareholders by accepting present status quo of underselling KK. Tourism owners can help by supporting Christina/Sabin partnership. Some suggestions: [1] To elevate Sabah's tourism up the value chain, owners especially the owners of hotels, must discard the present model of resorting to cheap pricing. Their CHEAPIE CHEAPIE BUSINESS MODEL IS SERIOUSLY OUT OF DATE. [2] Most of Sabah's products can be sold at good premium but are being marketed at undervalued prices. Tourism owners should stop competing on being cheap. Prices at many similar destinations are being sold at much higher value. [3] Tourism owners, should recognize that 'Price is a function of Quality of Service'. Their must adopt a premium quality business model to give themselves better returns on their investments. [4] Tourists' perception of perceived value is critical. For tourists, price is not just about the monetary cost; it is about the perceived value they receive. Value is the trade-off between the benefits (quality of service, experience, convenience, etc.) and the sacrifices (price, time, effort). The two Shangri-Las in Sabah have proven quality of service can command much higher room rates. They are doing much better than other 5* hotels which depend on lower pricing. Singapore is most successful in tourism in Asean. It is also most expensive by far! But it can offer super first-class experience from Changi, to hotels, to tourism products and world class professionals. Well-heeled tourists are happy to pay! Marina Bay Sand's extension will cost a whopping S$8billion [RM26.4 billion]. It will be the first hotel in Singapore and this region to have all suites hotel [500 suites!] in this extension. [5] Tourism owners must keep a continuous vigilant watch on the management of KKIA. Over the last few years, there are some improvements but far from satisfactory. KKIA is first and last impressions for tourists to bring home. So far, the impressions for tourists are not exactly exciting. [6] Sell KK as an experience and life style destination. Not a cheapie place. [7] Maintenance of some 5* star hotels has fallen behind badly. Tourism Owners [especially 4* and 5* hotel owners] Must Assist Christina and Sabin to Transform KK into a Major Tourism City. The 4* and 5* star hotel owners fought for open sky policy. Through the good office o of Chong Kah Kiat, SIHA present its case for open sky policy to Tun M. [1] Sabah was granted an 'open sky' policy in March 1999. This decision was made by then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad following a presentation by the Sabah International Hotels Association (SIHA). [2] This policy was a significant step in liberalizing the state's aviation sector, which had a major positive impact on its tourism industry by allowing more direct international flights. The hotel owners [not management] must proactively support Christina/Sabin to transform KK into the Tourism Capital of Borneo! The views expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Express. If you have something to share, write to us at: [email protected]
