KENINGAU, Aug 17 — The Sabah State Government has allocated nearly RM1 billion for the development of the agricultural, industrial and tourism sectors which continue to be among the main drivers of Sabah’s economic growth this year.

In this regard, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor wants district officers to look into the economic potential in their respective areas.

“There are districts that have strengths in agriculture. Some have tourism potential. Some have marine resources. Some also have potential in industry and trade. This potential needs to be identified and developed in a planned manner.

“Our task is to ensure that this potential can be translated into investment opportunities, jobs and increased income for the people,” he said at the opening ceremony of the 29th Sabah State District Officers’ Conference here today.

Hajiji sees the Blue Economy as an area that has great potential, especially in rural areas.

“Sabah has marine resources, biodiversity and vast coastal areas. This potential needs to be harnessed prudently to create new economic opportunities and increase the income of the community.

“I hope that the district officer can help identify the potential and facilitate investments that suit the needs and strengths of each district,” he said.

For this year, he said the state government has a development allocation ceiling of RM12.02 billion for 1,173 programmes and projects under the 13th Malaysia Plan, the highest in the history of the Sabah Budget.

“The allocation ceiling is for 241 extension projects while 932 are new projects, however, the larger the allocation provided, the greater our responsibility to ensure that their implementation is truly effective,” he said.

Therefore, the Chief Minister wants each district officer to pay serious attention to the implementation of projects and programmes in their respective districts and monitoring must be carried out continuously.

“If there is a problem, it must be identified early and if there is a delay, the cause must be known and appropriate action must be taken,” he added.

He said district and sub-district officers also need to change the way they view development success and not just look at the number of approved projects. — Bernama