By JOHNNY S.H. LIEW, Coordinator Change Advocate Movement of Sabah (CAMOS) Kota Kinabalu Division
KOTA KINABALU: The Change Advocate Movement of Sabah (CAMOS) reiterates that the Malaysia–US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART 2025) offers limited real benefits to Sabah unless there is immediate and meaningful empowerment for the state to trade and export on its own terms, through its own channels and infrastructure.
Responding to Deputy Minister of Plantation and Commodities Datuk Chan Foong Hin’s statement that the deal “benefits Sabah as well,” CAMOS said such claims — though technically correct on paper — do not translate into genuine economic gains for the people and producers of Sabah.
Sabah’s economy in 2024 registered a trade value exceeding RM100 billion for the third consecutive year. However, the state continues to face deep structural challenges. Exports reached RM61.3 billion, while imports rose by over 10%, resulting in a shrinking trade surplus of RM14.9 billion. This reflects Sabah’s continued dependency on external processing and the importation of value-added goods.
The main export commodities — crude petroleum, palm oil, and liquefied natural gas — constitute over 70% of total exports, yet are largely processed and exported through Peninsular Malaysia’s ports and facilities, preventing Sabah from fully reaping value addition and local profits.
> “Sabah remains a raw material supplier while others profit from downstream processing and export logistics,” CAMOS stated.
The group emphasized that the lack of adequate port autonomy and export infrastructure under Sabah’s control continues to exacerbate this imbalance.
Although plans are underway to expand and modernize the Sapangar Bay Container Port — with major private sector partners aiming to increase capacity to 1.25 million TEUs by 2025 — CAMOS asserts that further investments, legal support, and state governance over these facilities are essential to ensure that Sabah fully benefits from trade growth.
Smallholders and cooperatives in Sabah also face major hurdles, as many are unable to meet stringent US certification and labor compliance standards such as RSPO, due to limited financial and technical support.
CAMOS therefore calls on both the Federal and State Governments to move beyond political reassurances and instead pursue targeted investments in:
Processing plants and downstream industries;
Logistics hubs and industrial parks; and
Export promotion programs that include grassroots actors to enhance competitiveness and inclusion.
In this regard, CAMOS urges Parti Warisan — if returned to power — to demand that Sabah be given a seat at the table in trade negotiations, and that localisation clauses be embedded to ensure equitable distribution of export revenues.
> “True trade fairness will only materialize when Sabah can directly control its trade value chain, export independently, and leverage its abundant natural resources for sustainable economic growth,” CAMOS added.
Finally, CAMOS also urges Warisan to engage with the Federal Government in transparent dialogue and collaboration with Sabah’s leadership to dismantle systemic trade inequalities — focusing on actionable implementation rather than broad statements of intent.
Only through these concrete steps will ART 2025 truly deliver on its promise for Sabah and Sarawak — transforming opportunity into prosperity, instead of leaving Sabah on the sidelines, merely producing raw materials for others’ profit.
