29 November, 2005  (Sabah Daily Express) -  Ranau: Industrial Development Minister Datuk Ewon Ebin said the Malaysia recorded export receipts of RM20 billion from palm oil last year, of which 30 per cent (or RM6 billion) was contributed by Sabah.

The statistics showed that palm oil contributed 40 per cent to the State's gross domestic product (GDP), considering that Sabah has an overall acreage of 1.12 million hectares with a capacity to churn out 4.77 million tonnes of crude palm oil (CPO), or 35 per cent of the national output.

Ewon said this at the signing ceremony of a joint capital investment agreement between peninsula-based Jalinkom Sdn Bhd and Sabah-based Syarikat Usaha KD Plantation Sdn Bhd, at Tampios, some 68km from Ranau township, Monday.

The agreement, signed by Jalinkom Managing Director Ibrahim Haji Salleh and his Usaha KD Plantation counterpart Ridin Ibrahim, involved the presentation of a cheque by the former as investment capital to develop 85,000 acres of kampung lands in the Paginatan constituency.

Ewon also commended both companies for their joint efforts to development the land owned by kampung folks for oil palm cultivation, which at the same time could help elevate their living standard.