By Daniel John Jambun, Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo)
KOTA KINABALU: Recent state announcements highlighting billions of ringgit in approved manufacturing investments and ambitious trade targets are a welcome sign of potential economic interest.
However, for everyday Sabahans and local businesses navigating severe ongoing infrastructure deficits, these headline numbers continue to feel disconnected from reality on the ground.
While public statements celebrate figures such as the RM7.6 billion in recorded manufacturing investments, the persistent failure to resolve fundamental utility issues—specifically unreliable water supply, power grid instability, and road conditions—remains the single biggest obstacle to converting signed agreements into operational factories and sustainable local jobs.
Key Concerns Raised:
Unreliable Water Supply Threatens Industrial Operations
Major industrial hubs, including the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP) and Sipitang Oil and Gas Industrial Park (SOGIP), continue to face water deficits and supply disruptions.
High-value manufacturing requires continuous water volumes; without reliable utility feeds, operations cannot function at full capacity.
Power Grid Instability and Outages Drive Up Costs
High outage rates and grid fluctuations damage equipment and halt production lines.
Expecting foreign and local investors to maintain heavy manufacturing operations while relying on private generators or unbuffered feeds is unsustainable and undermines Sabah’s regional competitiveness.
Public Skepticism Over the “MOU Gap”
Skepticism among the public and local business owners is deeply rooted in history.
A large percentage of signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) and past investment targets have failed to materialize into physical factories or actual long-term employment due to unresolved site conditions.
Local Businesses Left Behind
While large foreign investors often negotiate dedicated utility line workarounds or self-contained power solutions, local small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) are left to bear the full burden of daily utility disruptions without special concessions.
Call to Action:
We call on the State Government, relevant ministries, and utility agencies to shift focus from headline numbers to core infrastructure execution:
Prioritize Utility Reliability First: Ensure industrial parks receive guaranteed, uninterrupted water and electricity supplies before promoting them to international markets.
Transparent Realization Tracking: Provide regular, public updates on the concrete status of approved investments—moving from signed announcements to actual capital spent and factories operating.
Accelerate Essential Public Works: Expedite key water treatment upgrades, grid stabilization projects, and industrial logistics corridors so that economic progress directly improves quality of life for all Sabahans.
Investments on paper are only the beginning.
True economic success is not measured in grand press announcements, but in working taps, stable electricity, and secure jobs on the ground.
