Kota Kinabalu: Warisan’s Luyang candidate Samuel Wong dismissed caretaker Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor’s claim that the GRS government has done an “excellent job” for Sabah’s youth, including providing scholarships than previous state government.
“When almost 170,000 of our young people cannot find work, how can Hajiji claim his administration has ‘excelled’ in youth development? This is not success — this is failure,” Wong said in a statement.
“The Deputy Prime Minister revealed that 169,800 young Sabahans remain jobless,” he said, referring to Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s speech in Tawau.
Wong said Hajiji’s RM1.3 billion — covering scholarships, student aid and training does not change the grim reality that Sabah still has the highest youth emigration rate, one of the lowest median salaries and a stagnant growth in high-skilled jobs.
“Scholarships help families but they do not create careers. They do not build industries. And they do not stop young Sabahans from boarding flights to KL or Singapore because they can’t find decent work here,” he said.
He also criticised former State Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Datuk Phoong Jin Zhe for painting a “rosy, fictional picture” of Sabah’s industrial performance.
“If Sabah enjoyed the ‘industrial boom’ Phoong keeps boasting about, we would not be having nearly 170,000 unemployed youths today,” he said.
“On Wednesday, Phoong took out a full-page colour advertisement in several major Chinese newspapers claiming Sabah’s unemployment figure for the third quarter is only 110,000 people,” Wong revealed.
“Who should Sabahans believe — the Deputy Prime Minister, or Phoong, whose number is drastically lower?
Wong claimed Warisan’s manifesto focuses on building real industries by leveraging Sabah’s core strengths — oil and gas, agriculture, natural resources, tourism and infrastructure.
He said Sabah must finally move into downstream processing to keep economic value in the State.
“Palm oil into cooking oil, fruits into juices and snacks, meat into frozen processed food, gas into cylinders, timber into furniture — when we industrialise our own resources, it triggers factory growth, logistics, packaging, construction, professional services and more.”
“This is how we create real jobs and retain Sabahan talent,” he said.
If elected, Wong said Warisan will prioritise job creation and wage growth through practical, achievable measures.
