Two new programmes to help bumi entrepreneurs
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (Sedia) is launching two new programmes this to support the development of bumiputera entrepreneurs with funds coming from the RM15 million special allocation for Sabah in the National 2015 Budget.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said the programmes are an Incubator Programme for new bumiputera entrepreneurs or start-ups and an Enterprise Accelerator Programme for existing bumiputera SMEs. “These programmes will be implemented with agencies such as TERAJU, Yayasan Sabah, Universiti Malaysia Sabah and others. I call upon bumiputera entrepreneurs to make full use of these programmes.”
In his opening remarks when chairing the 18th meeting of the Sedia members here Tuesday, Musa, who is also Finance Minister, said going forward, during the 11th Malaysia Plan, Sedia would accord greater emphasis on enhancing Sabah’s global connectivity to ensure seamless movement of people, goods and services.
“This emphasis is timely as the State transforms into a diversified, knowledge-intensive and high value-added economy. Efforts will be directed especially towards enhancing the efficiency of the logistics sector by improving the relevant infrastructure and the integration of land, sea, and air services,” he said.
He said that as global economic competitiveness was increasingly determined by efficiency of services as well as an adaptable and talented workforce, importance will also be given to the improvement of broadband Internet services and human capital development.
“A knowledgeable workforce will be crucial in further expanding the pace of downstream activities in major industries, such as palm oil, and oil and gas,” he said.
Earlier, Musa said the recent decline in the price of oil and depreciation of the Ringgit against the US dollar were twin challenges that Sedia needed to manage.
“Malaysia has already started to take pre-emptive and prudential steps, reining in operational spending without jeopardising development expenditure.
“The national economy has remained resilient and projected this year to remain on a steady growth path of between 4.5 to 5.5 per cent, driven by domestic demand, catalysed by economic restructuring and transformation programmes implemented by the government,” he said.
Towards this end, he was noted that Sabah’s economy had proven to be resilient in the face of periodic challenges.
“Sabah was able to post RM6.32 billion in tourism receipts for 2014, despite a difficult year; and the container throughput in Sabah has increased steadily from 208,490 TEUs in 2005, to 292,688 TEUs in 2010, and 398,800 TEUs in 2014, which was also the highest in the State’s history.
“Meanwhile, unemployment declined from 5.2 per cent in 2013 to 4.6 per cent last year. The current economic climate has in fact aided in boosting the local tourism industry, offering good value to tourists, as well as increasing the competitiveness of Malaysian exports,” he said.
According to him, Sabah is attractive to investors, being strategically located within Southeast Asia.
“We are at the heart of Asean, the world’s potential growth area with a consumer base of 620 million and combined GDP of US$2.4 trillion. There are immense opportunities for both domestic and international investors and Sabah can serve as an ideal gateway to the dynamic East Asian economies,” he said.
On the latest update of the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC), he said the cumulative committed investment figure from 2008 up until March 2015 stands at RM147.28 billion, of which RM51.6 billion had been realised.
The cumulative investment figure also includes the TERAJU@SDC domestic investment at a total of RM685.45 million, with RM80 million in approved Facilitation Funds for 28 projects.
“I am pleased to note that the implementations of all SDC projects are on track. Disbursement for SDC projects under the Ninth and 10th Malaysia Plans is currently at approximately RM1.6 billion, or 92 per cent of the total allocation received by Sedia from the Federal Government,” he said.
Congratulating Sedia for having recently been awarded a four-star rating by the Auditor-General under the Accountability Index for its financial management, he also announced that all the members of Sedia had been appointed for another two-year term.
On another note, Musa said Sedia would be collaborating with the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry and BiotechCorp to organise the Bio-Borneo Conference and Exhibition here on from Apr 20 to 21.
Source: Daily Express
