Latest news with #RM83.2bil
The Star
08-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Sabah's unemployment remains high as economic recovery lags
Warisan president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal holds up charts comparing Sabah's economic performance under Warisan and GRS during a press conference in Kolombong. KOTA KINABALU: Sabah's unemployment figures remain worryingly high, with 165,600 people still out of work in 2023, according to data from Warisan — a staggering increase from 114,300 in 2019. Warisan president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal said this sharp rise in joblessness reflects a troubling reality for many young Sabahans, who continue to leave the state for better opportunities in places like Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Hong Kong. 'This is a serious issue. We need to create jobs within Sabah so our people do not have to migrate for work. If we do not address this, we risk losing our talent,' he said at a press conference in Kolombong, here, Wednesday (May 7). Shafie also pointed to the need for more investment in downstream industries to drive economic growth and create sustainable jobs, noting that Sabah's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has struggled to recover. The state's GDP stood at RM83.2bil in 2023, still below its 2019 peak of RM85.6bil, marking a decline of RM2.4bil or 3% over four years. He cited the missed opportunity involving IKEA as a prime example of Sabah's struggle to attract major investments. Despite Sabah's rich timber resources, IKEA ultimately chose Sarawak over Sabah for its investment, raising concerns about the state's ability to support value-added industries. 'For instance, we produce cocoa, but where are the chocolate factories? Why are we just exporting raw materials? We need to add value locally to create jobs and strengthen our economy,' Shafie said. Shafie also took the opportunity to introduce Warisan's new slogan, 'Save Sabah' (Selamatkan Sabah), which he said captures the party's mission to address the state's critical issues, including unemployment, economic decline, and infrastructure gaps. 'Save Sabah from no basic infrastructure. Save Sabah from rising unemployment. Save Sabah from being left behind in terms of economic growth and development,' he said. He urged the people of Sabah to give Warisan a chance in the upcoming election, assuring them that the party can resolve the state's basic necessities challenges and build a stronger, more resilient Sabah. 'We are capable of solving our problems. We do not need to keep relying on others. We can manage our resources and address our challenges if given the chance,' Shafie said. The persistently high unemployment and sluggish GDP recovery also reflect broader challenges, including gaps in infrastructure, high logistics costs, and a lack of skilled labour, which must be addressed for sustainable growth.
The Star
30-04-2025
- Business
- The Star
Sabah's GDP growth promising
Hajiji Haji Noor Facebook picture. KOTA KINABALU: With Sabah's gross domestic product (GDP) showing an increase in growth in 2024, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor has called for a paradigm shift to ensure that all development plans are implemented successfully. Hajiji said the GDP growth of RM83.2bil last year against the RM82.1bil recorded in 2023 reflected a momentum of continuous improvement and positive development in Sabah. He said it was in line with the national GDP, which is expected to increase by 2.5% through the Madani Economy Framework that saw the restructuring of Malaysia's economy under the national Budget 2025. 'We must change our attitude to not just focus on the negatives without evaluating or giving credit to the successes or contributions made to the state,' Hajiji said when chairing the State Development Action Council meeting at Menara Kinabalu here yesterday. 'If we continue to contribute our energy positively through close cooperation from various quarters in the state, it is not impossible to successfully implement our Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya ( Hala Tuju SMJ) aspirations.' He also urged the relevant agencies to ensure all initiatives and programmes under the 12th Malaysia Plan and the development blueprint are implemented to spur economic growth and uplift the people's livelihood. Under the 13th Malaysia Plan, the Chief Minister revealed the state government has formulated a State Strategic Development Hala Tuju as a proactive step to spur Sabah's economy and development from 2026 to 2030. 'It is also an early framework that takes into consideration the policy, blueprint and current development plan. Various initiatives will be initiated encompassing the Blue Economy initiative and each state development agenda under the 13MP,' he said. Despite the various successes through the Hala Tuju SMJ initiatives and positive figures from all the released data to date, Hajiji said the state government must not become complacent. 'We must continue to work hard and be more proactive. All department and district-level heads must go down to the ground more frequently to monitor ongoing projects. 'This is important to ensure that all programmes are done well and thoroughly,' he said, adding that this year, 1,265 projects must be completed in Sabah. 'All the implementing agencies must constantly monitor these projects' progress and ensure they are completed according to schedule,' he said. According to him, Sabah is among the highest recipients of the national Budget, with RM6.7bil allocated by the Federal Government this year. 'This proves that the voices of the people and leaders of Sabah are heard at the federal level. It also demonstrates that we are very serious and will strive to boost the state's development.'
The Star
29-04-2025
- Business
- The Star
Hajiji: Sabah's economy remains on a positive trend
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah's gross domestic product (GDP) rose to RM83.2bil last year, announces Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor. Hajiji said the hike from RM82.1bil recorded in 2023 reflected a momentum of continuous improvement and positive development in the state. Describing the performance as encouraging, he, however, stressed the need for a paradigm shift to reinforce implementation efforts and warned implementers against becoming complacent. "We must change our attitude to focus solely on the negatives without acknowledging or giving due credit to the successes and contributions made to the state," he said when chairing the State Development Action Council meeting here on Tuesday. Hajiji said the achievement was due to cooperation from various quarters in the state. "If we continue to contribute our energy positively through close cooperation, we can successfully implement our Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya aspirations," he said. He urged the relevant agencies to ensure all initiatives and programmes under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) and Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya development blueprint are implemented to spur economic growth and to uplift the people's livelihood. Under the 13MP, the Chief Minister said the state government has formulated the State Strategic Development Hala Tuju as a proactive step to boost the economy and development from 2026 to 2030. "It is also an early framework that takes into consideration the policy, blueprint and current development plan," he said. He urged the state leadership and department heads at all levels to go down to the ground more often to monitor the ongoing programmes and projects. He said a total of 1,265 projects and programmes must be completed within this year. According to him, Sabah is among the highest recipients of Budget 2025, with an allocation of RM6.7bil. "This proves that the voices of the people and leaders of Sabah are heard at the federal level. "This also shows that we are very serious and will strive to boost the state's development," he said.
