29/01/2008 (The Star Online) - The latest ambitious blueprint for regional growth should spur the state to be on par with those in the peninsula by 2025. Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman outlines his vision for the Sabah Development Corridor.

THE idea initially was confined to Sabah’s east coast, specifically Sandakan, Lahad Datu and Tawau. But it grew. Today the term “corridor” is a misnomer, as the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) encompasses the entire state, including the interior regions and the burgeoning west coast.

The SDC, which will be launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today, is a three-pronged blueprint designed by the Institute for Development Studies, Sabah, targeted primarily at agriculture, tourism and manufacturing. At the same time, its architects hope that subsidiary industries will also enjoy spin-off benefits. 

Employment, leading to income generation for the state’s three million people, is the key.

“We want their quality of life to be improved,” said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman. 

“Closing the rural-urban gap is very important. We want Sabahans to be on the same level playing field as people in the peninsula.”

As for the poor, Musa envisages building more houses for the homeless, especially low-cost housing, under the SDC.

Last year, Sabah recorded RM2.3bil in revenue, paving the way for the implementation of the SDC. The Sabah Foundation, SEDC and Sawit Kinabalu will together spearhead the 18-year initiative.

As the Government puts the basic infrastructure in place, investors, both from elsewhere in Malaysia and abroad, are expected to flock here. 

“The government will put in place policies to make it easier to do business here and by reducing costs, be more competitive,” Musa said.

The blueprint, however, would come to nought without proper implementation. To this end, a one-stop centre headed by the state secretary and federal secretary will act as troubleshooters. 

To meet its anticipated manpower needs, Sandakan will be developed into an education hub, with the Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) already in place.

The agriculture branch of the Universiti Malaysia Sabah will also be set up here, followed by Kolej Tunku Abdul Rahman, polytechnics and government institution training centres such as that of the Inland Revenue Board. Only the sites have to be finalised.

With various other development corridors recently in the pipeline – all offering free trade zones, manufacturing and shipping – Sabah can only forge ahead if it has a natural advantage. 

To Musa, it is Sabah’s strategic location that sets it apart. 

“It is closer to Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, and Manila,” he said. “Plus it is the gateway to the East Asean Growth Area encompassing, apart from Sabah and Sarawak, Brunei, Kalimantan and Sulawesi in Indonesia and the southern Philippines. 

“Priority will be given to locals, that is what the SDC is all about,” said Musa.

But he acknowledged the need for foreign labour “provided they are legally employed and have the proper documents”. Indonesians will work in Sabah’s 1.3 million hectares of oil palm estates and the Filipinos in construction.

Another prerequisite is proper monitoring by the police, marine police and Immigration authorities. Musa does not want to see an influx of foreign labour using the SDC as an excuse.

The SDC is a three-phase programme. Under the first leg spanning 2008-2010, the RM147mil injection into the agropolitan project, involving the planting of rubber and fish cultivation in Pulau Banggi, will redress pockets of poverty on that island.

Still within the short term, a 10,000ha rubber plantation project in Bengkoka, Kudat, should also soon bear fruit.

Projects such as plastic manufacturing and participation of SMEs will fall under the medium-term (2011-2015) and longer-term (2015-2025) phases.

Reconciling waste from palm oil industries with keeping the seas pristine, however, will be tough. 

“We will not compromise on the environment and our culture,” declared Musa.

The Danum Valley, Tabin Wildlife Reserve and diversity of marine life in Darvel Bay are to remain untouched. In developing the Kota Kinabalu waterfront, there will be no more land reclamation.

As for its people: “We want them to continue to hold their celebrations, the Kaamatan (Harvest Festival), the tamu besar (traditional farmers’ market) not just for tourists but also for the locals to feel proud of their own culture. 

“We have more than 30 ethnic groups here of different religions living side by side, many of them inter-marrying,” said Musa.

These, after all, are Sabah’s strengths.