KOTA KINABALU, Nov 19 — Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) is confident of achieving a revenue target of RM10 billion by 2030 if given another mandate on November 29.

GRS deputy secretary-general Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said this optimism is based on the coalition government’s previous performance, which saw significant increases in Sabah’s revenue and reserves over its five-year administration.

It was the result of effective economic strategies, fiscal discipline and good governance under the Sabah Maju Jaya 1.0 (SMJ 1.0) development plan from 2021 to 2025.

“The GRS Government has the ability and capacity to increase the state’s revenue. If we look at Sabah’s revenue performance before GRS took over, for more than a decade the state government’s income remained stuck between RM3 billion and RM4 billion.

“In 2020 — and you know who was in power that year — revenue stood at only RM3.59 billion, down from RM4 billion the year before.

“But in GRS’ first year leading the Sabah Government, for the first time in Sabah’s history, we broke the RM5 billion mark. In 2021, our state revenue reached RM5.45 billion,” he said.

“We (GRS) continued that momentum and the latest available figures for 2024 reflected this achievement. So this is GRS’s performance, and let me make a comparison that is easier to understand.

“State revenue rose from RM5.45 billion in 2021 to RM6.96 billion in 2022, then RM6.98 billion in 2023, and RM6.87 billion in 2024.

“For comparison, revenue from 2020 to 2024 clearly shows an increase of almost double — RM3.25 billion or 90.5 per cent — compared to RM3.26 billion in 2020, which was the final year of the Warisan administration,” he said.

Aside from the State’s annual revenue, he said one of GRS’ major achievements was its success in strengthening Sabah’s state reserves.

“Sabah’s reserves stood at only RM2.9 billion in 2020. But the latest data, as of September this year, shows the reserves have grown to RM8.6 billion.

“That is not just a 100 per cent increase — it is a multi-fold expansion of the state’s reserves.

“These are the two key foundations of GRS’ success, reflecting the achievements of the Sabah Maju Jaya 1.0 (SMJ 1.0) roadmap implemented from 2021 to 2025,” Armizan said.

He added that the GRS Government is confident it can achieve its target of at least RM10 billion in revenue by 2030, provided the people continue to give GRS the mandate after PRN17.

“Based on these results, we are confident that under SMJ 2.0 — with the people’s mandate — we will be able to continue and strengthen this upward momentum in state revenue.

“Right now, revenue is close to RM7 billion in 2025, and within five years, we are positive of achieving the goal of at least RM10 billion by 2030.

“We are optimistic and confident that with the strategies we have outlined, we can increase revenue and meet — or even exceed — the target,” Armizan said. — Daily Express