Sabah, Sarawak companies to be given priority..
Posted on 08. Feb, 2005 by KDCA Web Admin in Press
February 7th 2005: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that companies from Sabah and Sarawak would be given the priority in carrying out infrastructure projects in the two states.
There are companies in the two states capable of carrying out such projects and they should be given the opportunity there, he said in his speech at the Bumiputera Minority Economic Congress 2005 held at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), here Monday.
He said infrastructure facilities were still lacking in Sabah and Sarawak and that both of them had the resources required to develop their states.
“We should know what we need to do. We need to start it and it has start from the point of capability,” he said.
Meanwhile, the congress today, jointly organised by the Kadazandusun Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Sabah and the Dayak Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Sarawak, among others discussed the problems faced by the minority Bumiputera community there which has been left quite behind in terms of economic development.
The Prime Minister said that companies from the private sector of Sabah and Sarawak should also play their role in the development of the states with their capacity to create job opportunities and sources of income.
He said companies that have become successful should also give rise to opportunities for the smaller companies by giving them sub-contracts.
Achieving success through the programmes set out by the government meanwhile should be something that must be enjoyed by all parties so that no one community is marginalised, left behind or left to take care of its fate, he said,
People should not just see all the opportunities available and not have the capacity to grab them in the belief that they are lacking in something, he said.
“If the capabilities are limited, we would have to make the efforts to increase them through quality learning and education,” he said.
Abdullah said there was also the immediate need to upgrade schools and facilities in Sabah and Sarawak. Besides this, there is also the need to set up training and skills centres for the people, he said.
He said Sabah and Sarawak stood to gain tremendous economic gains but this would have to be undertaken in a big way and would require the involvement of the people.
Among the sectors that would be able to help towards this direction are the agriculture and agro-based industries, Abdullah pointed out.
Source: BERNAMA
