KOTA KINABALU: The Minister of Entrep1reneur Development and Cooperatives, Datuk Ewon Benedick, said that 14 out of 36 Tamu Desa developments in Sabah for Phase 1 were fully completed last month.
He said that the completed tamu desa are located in Penampang, Kota Marudu, Kota Belud, Sipitang, Nabawan, and Tawau.
“Some of the Tamil designs that are not yet finished are under construction, while others are in the procurement process. On September 30, we will discuss the overall progress of the tamu desa implementation in Sabah during the Sabah Development and Entrepreneurship Coordination Committee meeting,” he said.
He made these comments after an interview about the implementation of the Sabah and Sarawak Tamu Desa Development Initiative by the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (KUSKOP) on Sabah FM radio at the Sabah FM Studio in the KKM Integrated Complex on Thursday.
Ewon explained that this initiative is an idea he introduced at KUSKOP to upgrade existing facilities for rural community guests or to build new tamu desa facilities for small traders and vendors in rural areas.
He added that in the 2024 Budget, the Prime Minister, Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim, as the Minister of Finance, has allocated RM20 million for the Tamu Desa development under KUSKOP.
He stated that for the first phase, RM10 million is being used to develop 36 tamu desa sites in Sabah and 13 in Sarawak. Most of these are already completed, including those in Sipitang and Kuala Penyu, which will be handed over to small traders on Friday.
“For the second phase, KUSKOP is finalising the allocation with the Ministry of Finance to continue the tamu desa development.
“I am confident that this project will benefit small traders and visitors to the Tamu Desa. I aim to make this an annual initiative of KUSKOP to create more tamu desa,” he added.
