Kota Kinabalu, 28 January 2022
Lunar Year of the Tiger brings hopes of normalcy
As we welcome the year of the tiger, people all over the world are hopeful that the new lunar year will be a much better one than that of the last two years, for obvious reasons. Economic growth, increase in employment, revival of the tourism and other economic sectors, and a return to normalcy are the hopes of the people.
In Sabah, we can look forward to increased economic prospects and stability. Strong investments from foreign and domestic businesses, Sabah’s political stability and conducive business environment under the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah government are plus factors that boosts the confidence of Sabah people.
Twin dragons China and Indonesia an enormous economic opportunity
At the same time, the economic rise of a dragon to our south, namely Indonesian Kalimantan, which constitutes a massive 75% of Borneo Island, coupled with the huge dragon to our north, China, provides Malaysia, especially Sabah, an enormous opportunity to expand our markets beyond our wildest dreams. The economic potential provided by these twin dragons is especially timely because Malaysia is going to be part and parcel of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in the next few months.
Consisting of the ten ASEAN member countries together with China, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand, RCEP is the world’s biggest trading block.
Another big and increasingly prosperous neighbour is the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) which is proving to be a success to finally bring peace and prosperity to that troubled region adjoining Sabah’s east coast. The smart partnership between Sabah and BARMM can only bring mutual benefits to our regions.
It is now only a matter of how Sabah, especially our business community, can take advantage of the massive opportunities afforded by the economic explosion at Kalimantan and BARMM, both of which are big partners in BIMP-EAGA (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines – EAST ASEAN Growth Area).
With the Sabah Maju Jaya framework guiding Sabah’s development path, I am confident that Malaysians in Sabah will overcome the tough challenges of the last two years and come out much stronger than ever before.
With these hopes, I wish everyone good health, prosperity and a happy lunar new year of the tiger. Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Datuk Yong Teck Lee
President, SAPP