By NT
Source-Kinabalu Media
KOTA KINABALU: From a modest beginning as a civil servant to becoming the ADUN for Sulaman, Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji Haji Noor has served as Sabah’s Chief Minister since 2020.
Since assuming leadership of the state government, he has gained recognition for his down-to-earth demeanor, steady handling of challenges, and unassuming personal lifestyle.
He also favours careful decision-making and emphasizes dialogue and negotiation rather than confrontational political discourse.
This approach helps create political stability as Sabah has faced several episodes of political ‘uncertainty’ since 2020, thereby facilitating the state government, led by the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), in developing the state.
Among the main initiatives introduced by the 16th and 17th Chief Minister of Sabah was the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) development plan in 2021.
The initiative, among other things, aims to eradicate extreme poverty and introduce the Sabah Blue Economy Policy.
SMJ also focuses on three main pillars, namely agriculture, industry, and tourism, and is strengthened thru the development of human capital, infrastructure, and governance.
The pure efforts of the GRS government, led by Hajiji, have indeed borne fruit.
This is proven when SMJ contributes to a significant increase in state revenue.
For example, in 2020, the recorded state revenue was RM3.59 billion, RM6.96 billion (2022), RM6.97 billion (2023), and increased to RM6.84 billion in 2024, thus maintaining a strong performance above the RM6 billion mark.
This is one of the highest revenue achievements in Sabah’s history to date.
In terms of trade, the achievement also surpassed RM100 billion.
For example, in 2022, the recorded total trade of Sabah reached RM118.1 billion, reflecting an increase of 35.4 percent compared to the previous year.
The growth of Sabah’s GDP also recorded positive achievements, witnessing the state’s GDP increase from approximately RM77.8 billion (2020) to RM84.3 billion (2024).
SMJ also succeeded in nurturing a climate of domestic and foreign investment in this state.
This includes successfully attracting investments in the oil and gas sector, manufacturing, renewable energy, food processing, and the blue economy.
Another sector that benefits from the implementation of SMJ is tourism and infrastructure facilities.
Various projects are also continued or expedited in an effort to achieve SMJ’s mission and vision.
This includes water supply facilities, roads, electrical supply system repairs, rural area development, and enhancing the provision of public facilities.
Although some of it involves cooperation with the Federal Government, the state government has made infrastructure improvement one of SMJ’s priorities.
In terms of educational development and human capital, SMJ has shown progress, including providing scholarships or educational assistance to outstanding or deserving students, especially those from B40 families.
In addition, SMJ emphasizes
Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), skills development
and the digitalization of education.
The state government has never neglected the welfare of the people of Sabah.
Thru SMJ, various assistance programs have been introduced, including welfare assistance,
educational assistance, entrepreneurial assistance, and the People’s Touch program.
Not to be left out is the agricultural sector and food security. SMJ focuses on increasing rice production, reducing dependence on food imports, and developing agro-food.
and the rice revolution.
Under SMJ 2.0, the state government aims to increase the self-sufficiency rate of rice to 60% by 2030, and so far, integrated efforts toward that goal are being actively implemented.
The state government has also introduced Blue Economy development as a new source of growth involving the aquaculture industry, marine industry, logistics, ports, marine biotechnology, and marine tourism.
After almost six years of SMJ being introduced in Sabah, Hajiji, thru his moderate and calm demeanor, is increasingly liked by the people of various ethnicities in the state.
Many community activists have dubbed Hajiji as the ‘Architect of SMJ Development’.
Community activist Mohd Zaki Harry Susanto stated that Hajiji’s main strength stems from his effective governance of Sabah, which has brought growing stability and harmony to the region under his leadership.
“There’s no evidence of any ethnic group being sidelined during Hajiji’s tenure, and the interests of all communities are being safeguarded,” he noted.
“These are precisely the qualities the public values in a leader.”
Zaki also emphasized that Hajiji’s composed, consensus-driven approach, along with his political maturity in nurturing strong state-federal ties, has played a key role in fostering a stable political environment in Sabah—one that supports broad-based development.
