CM says Sabah Maju Jaya initiatives near full success
In a speech read by Assistant Minister Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan, Hajiji said there was strong performance across economic, infrastructure, and welfare sectors as the development plan enters its final phase.
'A total of 366 initiatives have achieved a 100 per cent completion rate. The economic growth of the state of Sabah has consistently progressed positively and increased year by year,' he told the State Assembly today, adding that the state's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has increased by RM6.5 billion in the last five years.
In 2020, it stood at RM77.8 billion, increasing to RM78.7 billion in 2021, RM82.1 billion in 2022, RM83.2 billion in 2023, and RM84.3 billion in 2024.
'Sabah's total trade volume surpassed the RM100 billion mark in 2022, recording its highest-ever trade value at RM118 billion, an increase of RM30.8 billion compared to RM87.2 billion in 2021.
Sabah's total revenue from 2021 to 2024 amounted to RM26.22 billion, with its annual revenue nearly doubling over five years, rising from RM3.59 billion in 2020 to RM6.84 billion in 2024.
Hajiji said that the growth was driven partly by a Commercial Collaboration Agreement with Petronas under the 'Greater Say, Greater Participation, Greater Revenue' principle.
Key sectors such as agriculture, industry, tourism, and infrastructure saw substantial investments and upgrades.
Human capital, social welfare, and sustainable development were also focal points of the plan.
He highlighted several achievements in infrastructure: Sabah's total road length increased by 982 km from 2021 to 2024, a majority of which were municipal roads at 392 km, followed by 283 km of state roads, and 271 km of city council roads. Federal roads amounted to only 36 km.
He claimed that treated water capacity increased from 1,505 MLD (2021) to 1,630 MLD (2024), while water treatment plants rose from 85 to 90. Ongoing water projects scheduled for completion by next year are Telibong II, Beluran, Kanibongan, Kasigui UWSS, Kogopon, and Papar alternate intake, while the non-revenue water (NRW) rate reduced from 60 per cent to 52 per cent.
Meanwhile, 11 power projects amounting to 1,219 MW were approved to be completed between 2025–2031, and the electricity outage rate (SAIDI) reduced to 207 minutes in 2024, from 332 minutes in 2021.
He also said that 52 investments worth RM17.42 billion were realised between 2021 and 2024, not including RM10.9 billion in investments approved in the first quarter of 2025.
Domestic investment surpassed foreign investment in both 2023 and 2024.
Hajiji also said that the state plans to expand another 200,000 hectares of land into protected areas, hitting its target of 30 per cent protected areas.
Sabah currently has two million hectares of Totally Protected Areas (TPAs).
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) currently span 1.015 million hectares and continue to expand.
During a supplementary question, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said that the state government does not have the capacity for oil exploration yet and would look into more options when it could.
He was asked by Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal how it awarded an oil exploration project.
'SMJ and Sabah International Petroleum do not have the capacity now. We will have it soon, but we cannot be compared to Sarawak. They are 100 years ahead of us. We have just started crawling while they are running. Please look at the larger perspective, because we do not have the expertise that allows us to bid on such international projects, but that does not mean we are not involved at all.
'We may be quiet but we are getting results,' said Masidi.
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