HAJIJI CONFIDENT 40 PER CENT SPECIAL GRANT FOR SABAH TO BE FINALISED SOON

KOTA KINABALU, Dec 6 (Bernama) -- Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor is confident that the 40 per cent special grant for the state will be finalised soon, thanks to the strong ties between the state and Federal governments.

He said that although the state government continued to uphold Sabah’s rights, it should also not forget its responsibility to safeguard national interests.

“I am confident that strong relations will bring many benefits.

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“This includes finalising the Federal Government’s obligation on the payment of the 40 per cent revenue return for Sabah, which we hope can be concluded soon for our mutual good,” he said when speaking at the ‘Sentuhan MADANI’ programme at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) here today.

 Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also attended the event.

The Chief Minister added that beginning next year, Sabah’s development policy would be guided by the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) 2.0 roadmap, which included establishing three new industrial parks.

These are the Blue Economy Industrial Park in Kudat, the Oil and Gas Industrial Park in Beaufort, and the High-Tech and Semiconductor Industrial Park between Kota Belud and Kota Marudu, to accommodate the growing interest of investors.

He said this reflected the state government’s commitment to fulfilling its responsibilities and elevating Sabah’s standing over the next five years.

“Every plan implemented must focus on the people’s well-being, whether directly or indirectly, through economic growth and job opportunities,” he said.

Hajiji also reiterated the state government’s commitment to safeguarding the interests of Sabahans by building 50 Rumah Mesra SMJ units in each state constituency to assist the poor and hardcore poor, as well as providing monthly financial aid of RM300 for 100,000 recipients next year.

He said new financial assistance for senior citizens aged 60 and above without a fixed income, along with incentives for first-home deposit financing, would also be introduced.

Hajiji said the state government would double its efforts to upgrade basic infrastructure, with more than RM1.2 billion allocated for water supply, to be implemented in phases starting mid-next year.

He also expressed appreciation to Anwar for the RM765 million allocation to complete the Sabah Southern Link project, connecting the West Coast and East Coast electricity grids to address power supply disruptions in the region.

On Nov 13, media reported that the MADANI Government would strengthen the provision of essential utilities with an allocation of RM1.2 billion to ensure continuous electricity supply and RM765 million for the Sabah Southern Link Transmission Line Project.

-- BERNAMA