Yong (fourth left) and SAPP leaders showing the Sabah Economic Plan.

17/01/2012 (Borneo Post) -  Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) yesterday launched its “Sabah Economic Plan” which it will implement once it forms the state government.

In the plan which was tabled by Datuk Haji Mohd Noor Mansoor and launched by party president Datuk Seri Panglima Yong Teck Lee, SAPP has vowed to deposit RM100 million annually into the Sabah Heritage Fund (SHF).

Mohd Noor said the SAPP government is confident that Sabah’s State revenues can achieve RM5 billion by the year 2015.

“This budget will be able to sustain the momentum of Sabah’s development and able to save for the future. The revenue is expected to be derived by way of close monitoring of royalties on oil and gas, including those new, significant discoveries in shallow waters off Sabah producing an additional seven billion standard cubic feet per day,” he said.

There will also be a review of payment (revenue) in lieu of export duties and excise on petroleum products by the state government as well as exercising the state right over land by requiring land taxes on the Petronas gas pipeline from Kimanis to Sarawak border, and other Pertonas installations in Sabah.

“We will reinstate public auction of prime urban commercial lands and allow palm oil mills to convert their agricultural land status into industrial land status and revise timber royalties consistent with market prices,” he stressed.

This expected revenue of RM5 billion does not take into account the probability of successfully claiming 20 per cent in petroleum royalties, which at 20 per cent would give Sabah additional revenue of RM3 billion per annum based on the 2011 figure, he disclosed.

According to him, the additional RM1 billion in the annual revenue by 2015 will be reinvested in several ways including RM100 million per annum in Heritage Fund (instituted in 1997) for future generations, RM500 million for State Consolidated Fund for Sabah’s development expenditure, RM100 million for Sabah Palm Oil Council, which will be set up to nurture, promote and protect the Sabah Palm Oil sector, RM200 million for food production and security, including self-sufficiency in rice by 2018 and RM100 million for human resource planning and training in order to reduce Sabah’s over dependence on foreign labour, and to raise the income and living wage based on the productivity of local employees and workers.

When asked to explain about the Sabah Heritage Fund, Yong said it was set up in 1997 as a savings fund for future generations.

“It is like an endowment fund whereby the government of the day has the responsibility to save money, at that time we were talking about RM50 million a year deposited from the State Consolidated Fund into this Heritage Fund,” he said.

According to him, in order to protect this fund there is a provision that it can only be expended for specific purposes by the legislative assembly which is an added level of protection.

The Cabinet itself cannot approve the disbursement from this fund and it has to come from the assembly, he said, adding that it is comparable to the Cultural Heritage Conservation Enactment which managed to protect the Atkinson’s Clock Tower.

“The principles are according to that line, legislative control. Such a fund exists in some countries such as Canada and Singapore. So we propose that the State Government should deposit RM100 million a year from the additional RM1 bilion that is expected to come in by 2015.

“The budget now is about RM4 billion. If we reach the figure earlier then we start depositing earlier, if it is less than RM1 billion then we deposit less. The amount will be adjusted accordingly but the plan talks about RM100 million a year savings in the Heritage Fund from 2015 onwards,” he said.

“I understand that in the first year RM50 million was deposited, subsequently we are not aware of how much had been deposited,” he said.

The Sabah Economic Plan also stressed that the SAPP government will put emphasis on wealth creation for the people and empowerment of the business community.

Wealth must be created before it can be distributed and the engine of economic growth is the business community which is why the business community must be empowered and enabled in order to generate economic growth through investments, trade and innovation and productivity.

SAPP will also ensure the abolition of the sand and scrap metal monopolies as well as revive and strengthen the one-stop centre of investment to ensure an efficient and easy-to-understand process and speedy approval of investment applications by local and foreign investors.

It will invest and improve the seaports and existing barter trade centres in Tawau and Sandakan and propose new barter trade centres in Kudat, Semporna and Lahad Datu.