LAHAD DATU: Government agencies in Sabah stand to gain tremendously with more communication channels between the state and federal government.
“There is so much that can be achieved via on-site visit and face-to-face interaction, and this visit is a new channel of communication and at a new level for POIC Sabah moving forward,” said Datuk Seri Panglima Yong Teck Lee, the Chairman of state-owned POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd, the developer of the POIC Lahad Datu industrial park here.
He was welcoming the delegation of the Special Select Committee on Finance and Economy, who was on their inaugural visit to POIC Lahad Datu.
The committee, set up in 2023 under the Office of the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, oversees the workings of vital organs of national development, including the Ministry of Finance, the Economic Planning Unit, agencies under the Prime Minister’s Department, and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI).
It is backed by an advisory board of 15 economists from public universities and private higher education institutions.
Tuaran MP Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred Madius Tangau, a former federal minister, was part of the delegation whose itinerary will include a visit to East Kalimantan, where the USD32 billion development of the new Indonesian capital, called Nusantara, is expected to have much-spread effects on surrounding regions.
Datuk Yong Teck Lee expressed hope that the establishment of the new high-level committee would help address delays in funding approvals for Sabah projects, allowing for timely implementation.
He also briefed the visitors that the eventual size of POIC Lahad Datu, which will cover about 7,725 acres, is the single biggest development in BIMP-EAGA (Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area), where POIC Lahad Datu is seeking to become its logistics hub.
POIC Lahad Datu has a major role in Sabah’s industrial ambitions, leveraging on its central location within BIMP EAGA, a region with a multitude of resources in marine. Crude palm oil, minerals, and oil & gas.
Regarding security in Eastern Sabah, which some countries have cited as an investment concern, Yong noted that there have been no border incidents in the past five years.
Delegation leader, YB Dato’ Indera Mohd Shahar bin Abdullah, who is the MP for Paya Besar, said his committee’s mission was to have a better understanding of POIC Lahad Datu given its strategic importance to Sabah development against a backdrop of significant regional growth, including the Indonesian capital.
POIC Sabah Deputy CEO Lynette Hoo highlighted to the meeting the potential of POIC Lahad Datu from the perspective of a gateway to the expansive and resource-rich East Asean territories, which extend from Borneo eastward to Sulawesi, Irian Jaya, and the Southern Philippines.
Also present at the visit were POIC Board of Directors, representatives from the Industry Section of the Ministry of Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship (MIDE), and department heads from various agencies. This included representatives from ESSCOM, the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (LD), the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Fisheries, and the Department of Veterinary Services of Sabah.
