Sabah State Govt Sets Up Economic Advisory Council
11 Jan 2021
The Sabah state government has set up a ‘Sabah Economic Advisory Council’ (SEAC) comprising industry players, academicians and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to complement its efforts in the state’s economic recovery.
Chief Minister Datuk Hajiji Noor who is also state Finance Minister said the SEAC was a voluntary effort by appointed members who have agreed to give their service to the state in an advisory role.
He said the SEAC idea was mooted when the government under Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) took over the helm.
“Since October last year, the council lost no time in bringing together members to brainstorm on the way forward for the state’s economic recovery,” he said after chairing the council’s special meeting at the Sabah Administrative Centre here, today.
The SEAC is led by Tan Sri David Chu Sui Kiong as chairman and Datuk Tan Kim Beng as secretary.
Hajiji said the plans must be put in place and turned into actions once the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.
Meanwhile, he revealed that the Sabah state development blueprint or Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ Development Plan 2021-2025) was in the finalisation stage and would be tabled in the State Legislative Assembly soon.
“The Hala Tuju SMJ Development Plan will see the involvement of the private sector and this is where we look to the SEAC as among the vehicles to bring change and transform our economy,” he said.
He said he also brought up Sabah’s needs and priorities for the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) during a recent meeting with Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
“The aim of my visits was to forge greater cooperation and to work closely with our federal counterparts. Among them were to boost inflow of domestic and foreign investments in Sabah and in particular, to bring in more new investments to Sabah.
“Our target is to improve the value of investments approved, recorded at RM11.7 billion for the first quarter of 2019 and to prove that Sabah will continue to be an attractive investment destination for foreign investors,” he said.
Source: Bernama
