The Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) State Government is arresting the economic downward trend due to the Covid-19 pandemic through the implementation of the five-year Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) Development Plan.
This is in spite of registering all-time high revenue of RM5.449 billion for the financial year ending Dec. 31, 2021.
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Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Haji Noor said initial economic indicators had shown that Sabah is on the right track as far as SMJ is concerned.
He said the key to successfully implementing a development agenda is the commitment to work as a team.
“As leader of the Government and State, I need a team that has full grasp of the state’s development direction. Acceptance and togetherness is the foundation, while the thrust is commitment and will to work and achieve a common goal,” said Hajiji, who is also State Finance Minister.
He said the spread of Covid-19 became critical after the State Elections in September 2020 requiring the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) Government to take immediate steps to formulate recovery strategies for Sabah.
Six months after taking over the State Government, the GRS Government launched the Hala Tuju SMJ on March 29, 2021, to chart Sabah’s development for the next five years.
“The success of this development plan depends on the acceptance, unity, commitment and will of the people as well as the civil service as major stakeholders,” he said.
Just as the state crest belongs to all Sabahans, Hajiji hoped everyone accepts they are heading in the same direction through the SMJ.
“I am confident that all understand that a progressive and successful Sabah is important for Malaysia as a whole,” said Hajiji when addressing the State Civil Service Assembly, which was attended by 900 state and federal civil service personnel, at Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC), Kota Kinabalu, on Jan 25.
Hajiji also directed the State Secretary to also require them to hold an Open Day to allow people to listen, see and feel the meaning and value of the Hala Tuju SMJ. Besides submitting a yearly report on achievement at the end of March every year.
“I hope all government agencies are ready to furnish the report on the status of implementation and achievements of the initiatives under their respective purview,” he said.
As for federal agencies, he wanted them to present their planning and status of programmes as well as projects being implemented for the people to see and understand.
He hoped the Federal Secretary’s office would coordinate the participation of the federal agencies during the Open Day.
The Chief Minister is confident that under the Malaysia Family spirit, the 20,363 state and 103,030 federal civil service personnel are capable of ensuring successful implementation of the Hala Tuju SMJ.
Among the transformation approaches being taken are the development of three data hubs, namely the People Hub, Business Hub and Geo Hub under the Data Integration and Interchange Platform (DIIP).
The DIIP is a data-sharing platform that facilitates Government-to-Government, Government-to-Business and Government-to-Citizen data sharing, which had paved the way for the creation of the Sabah Digital Marketplace to spur the growth of people-orientated businesses.
“I welcome the state public service’s commitment to put in place the Good Regulatory Practice (GRP) beginning 2021,” he said, adding he was also proud that Sabah had received the Regulatory Champion Award as the Most Active State in GRP Implementation from the Malaysia Productivity Corporation during the 2021 GRP National Conference.
He also fully supported the State Public Service Department’s initiative to introduce the High Performing Organisational Happiness Index, under a study being conducted in collaboration with researchers from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).
“Results from the study are crucial in formulating suitable strategies to transform the public service,” he said.
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