Sabah to focus on developing border towns with Kalimantan

KOTA KINABALU - The Sabah government will focus on efforts to develop several border towns in the state, especially in Tawau in tandem with the relocation of the Indonesian capital to Kalimantan.

The Governor of Sabah, Tun Juhar Mahiruddin said, the effort is to intensify the development and existing economic activities in these cities.

"The Sabah government will not be left behind in exploring economic opportunities that may arise as a result of the Indonesian capital's recolation to Kalimantan.

“The government plans to expand existing development and economic operations in numerous border towns that have been identified, especially in the Tawau district,” he said in his policy speech in conjunction with the Opening Ceremony of the Third Term 16th Sabah State Assembly today.

He also stated that the state government has prepared the Sabah Development Corridor Blueprint 2.0 (2021-2030) to develop Sabah by expanding corridors or areas in accordance with the Sabah Maju Jaya development plan (SMJ).

“The implementation of various initiatives under the blueprint will be strengthened.

"This includes initiatives to make the Teluk Sapangar Container Port and Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) as major trade centres and gateways in the ASEAN Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines (BIMP-EAGA) East ASEAN Growth Area," he said.

Juhar completed the official opening of the Sabah state assembly sitting which will begin next Monday (March 21) and will run for four days.

The Opening Ceremony of the Third Term 16th Sabah State Assembly took place at the Sabah State Assembly Building and was witnessed by the Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor along with his three deputies, Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan and Datuk Dr Joachim Gunsalam.

Also presented by Sabah DUN Speaker, Datuk Kadzim M Yahya.