LABUAN, June 8 — The Labuan Development Blueprint 2030 is set for a total adjustment to tailor it to the current economic trends, political development changes, and Covid-19 pandemic atmosphere.
Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the blueprint, if implemented during this trying times of Covid-19 pandemic, must totally be adjusted in tandem with the ongoing recovery movement control order (RMCO).
“I will look at the blueprint in detail so that I can give inputs based on my expertise and academic background in town planning…I’m looking forward to see it myself to identify which areas need adjustments to add value to it,” he said to reporters after the presentation of Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) zakat aid and Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan’s food kits to the asnaf and needy in various villages here today.
He said there might be some areas in the blueprint that could still be used as the guidelines for development, while some would be improved in view of changes in the development landscape in neighbouring states of Sabah and Sarawak and Brunei.
“Development blueprint must not be too rigid, you must take into consideration the latest situation…no point of having a blueprint, later on, it cannot even be implemented.
“It is better to have a simple and implementable blueprint, and you can see the results rather than having a sophisticated blueprint and end up doing nothing,” he said.
The Labuan Development Blueprint 2030 launched in January 2018 aimed to help the local authority of Labuan Corporation (LC) to carry out its functions as the local government and local planning authority.
It is a document to leapfrog Labuan from an economy that relies heavily on the oil and gas sector to a more diversified economy based on tourism and other services sectors in order to strengthen its role as a competitive regional growth centre in the South China Sea region.
The blueprint provides clear strategic direction and identified projects and programmes in focused areas. It is more like a hybrid of development plan where it comprises not only a development plan, but also an investment plan and projects implementation brief that are based on one vision — Smart and Sustainable Island City.
Meanwhile, Annuar said the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government’s focus is now on people-centric approach to economic policy, capital and macro economies as well as financial policies.
“We have to tackle all these at the same time with priority on the people’s economy. The present government is committed to reviving the country’s economy…the Cabinet has decided within a year, we would like to see a complete turnaround, Malaysia re-emerging to become a vibrant and competitive economy nation by June next year,” he said.
Annuar said his ministry was committed to ‘translating’ into reality and actions the economic recovery plans set forth by the Federal Government. — Bernama
