Sabah govt welcomes pepper as new crop

TAMBUNAN: The state government welcomes the efforts of the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities to introduce the cultivation of pepper as a new commodity crop.
Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan said the newly introduced commodity crop has been well received in the state.
He said if farmers in the interior region were given a briefing and guidance on growing pepper, they would cultivate the crop in their gardens together with other crops.
Pairin, who is also Minister of Infrastructure Development was speaking at the closing ceremony of the Hello Commodity Programme organised by the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities at the community hall here on Saturday.
“We hope pepper can be cultivated by the farmers especially in the Tambunan district and Keningau parliamentary as a whole when they receive assistance and guidance just like other commodities such as oil palm and rubber that they are planting now,” he said.
He also hoped that the presence of the officials and agencies under the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities would enable the local community to improve the quality and productivity of commodity crops as well as the industry.
The Tambunan Assemblyman and Keningau MP said the Hello Commodity Programme was also an avenue for participants to obtain information, knowledge and experience as well as new ideas to address issues related to commodity crops.
“With the government vigorously promoting the plantation and commodity sector, the economy of smallholders in the state including those in the Tambunan district and the interior region will continue to improve.
“In this respect, I urge smallholders and entrepreneurs as well as the community in general to take advantage of the assistance and services provided by the government to develop the plantation and commodity sector,” said Pairin.
Also present were the Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, Bingkor Assemblyman Datuk Justin Guka, Tambunan District Officer Thomas Angor, officials from the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities and community leaders.

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Pairin expresses gratitude to people for backing BN

Keningau: Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan expressed gratitude to the people for supporting Barisan Nasional (BN) which has enabled development to be carried out.

He said their unwavering support has allowed the ruling Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to govern the country well.

"Overall, while we deliver aid from the Government, I would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation to the people who have been supportive of the Government.

"The Government under our Prime Minister is very attentive to the needs of our community, we really see much favours to the people and he really examines the needs of the people.

"As a result, development and administration patterns which are delivered through us, as local leaders in our respective areas, always recognise the feelings and wishes of the people," he explained.

Pairin, who is also Infrastructure Development Minister, said the gratitude is particularly aimed at the community who have supported and had better understanding about the purpose of government in providing transformation programmes for the betterment of the society.

"This is not only in infrastructure but also in terms of the government vision for the underprivileged in society," he said after handing over the Housing Assistance Programme 2011 house keys to two recipients here, Saturday.

The recipients who come under the needy category were the family of Chua Jok Gee @ Chua Jak Lee and the family of Lo Neo Sin from the Tamu Ground Keningau area.

According to Pairin, who is also Keningau MP, in the context of Malaysia as a country, the Government has always evaluated from the point of issues which need to be settled.

"It is then channelled through a screening discussion to explore how we can remedy a problem that is possible to be overcome in the interest of society and the needs of our state.

"So, of course as political leaders who have been supported by the people over the years, we would like to express our appreciation and gratitude to the people in the area.

"Hopefully, by understanding, cooperation, unity and struggle for the community and future generation, these people will support us more so we will be more eager to lead the community in the future," he said.

Also present at the event were Rural Development Assistant Minister Datuk Sairin Karno, Parti Bersatu Sabah Liawan Chief Datuk Jake Jikulin Nointin, People Development Leader for Liawan, Rosdi Padiman, and others.

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Federal government tax incentive poised to galvanise investment momentum in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: The recent decision by the Federal Government in approving a special Investment Incentive Package for the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) is poised to further intensify the investment momentum in the state.

Describing the announcement of the incentive as timely, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said the package would cover activities in, among others, the tourism, manufacturing and agriculture sectors and major industries.

These incentives are available for investment in designated Strategic Development areas, clusters and flagship projects including the Kinabalu Gold Coast Enclave, Sabah Agro-Industrial Precinct (SAIP), Sandakan Education Hub, Sabah Oil and Gas Industrial Park (SOGIP), Interior Livestock Valley, Marine Integrated Cluster and the Lahad Datu Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC), he said.
“The incentives will vary based on the focus areas, offering incentives such as full tax exemption on statutory income for up to 10 years, investment tax allowance of 100 per cent on qualifying capital expenditure for five years, and full exemption on import duty and sales tax exemption, subject to current policy.
“The period for tax incentives is for applications received by the Sabah Economic Development & Investment Authority (SEDIA) up until Dec 31, 2020,” he said in his speech at the 12th meeting of members of SEDIA at Wisma SEDIA near here today.
His speech was read by Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan.
Musa, who is also chairman of SEDIA, said the state and national budgets for 2013 would further intensify the development momentum in Sabah.
He said the state government had provided a higher allocation for the year 2013 as compared to the 2012 budget. “The 2013 Budget Strategy has been planned and formulated with emphasis on efforts that will ensure continuous prosperity and the people’s well-being in line with the 2013 Budget theme, ‘Consolidated Efforts Towards Continuous Prosperity Of The People’.
“The Supply Expenditure for the year 2013 is the biggest in the State’s budget financial history totalling RM4.088 billion,” he said.
Musa said Sabah is a blessed state located along the maritime silk route linking the vibrant East Asian economies to the rest of the world.
Sabah has the potential to leverage on its strategic position to link the rapidly growing BIMP-EAGA sub-region to the dynamic North East Asian economies, he added.
“Its economy recorded an average growth of 5.3 per cent between 2007 and 2010, which is 1.1 per cent higher than the national growth rate over the same period.
“We are expecting the State’s economic growth to be resilient in the face of global economic uncertainties, expanding at about five to six per cent.
“I believe the measures introduced in aligning the SDC with the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and the 10th Malaysia Plan coupled with the progress made in the implementation of SDC projects, especially the SDC Flagship Projects such as the POICs in Sandakan and Lahad Datu, Sandakan Education Hub, Oil and Gas Clusters, Keningau Integrated Livestock Centre, Kinabalu Gold Coast Enclave, Sabah Agro-Industrial Precinct and Agropolitan Projects, have succeeded in boosting business confidence in Sabah,” he said.
He said these developments had encouraged more private investors to consider participating in new investment projects, Entry Point Projects (EPPs) and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in Sabah.
Musa noted with satisfaction that Sabah had also emerged as one of the top investment destinations in Malaysia, which itself had emerged as one of the world’s top 10 Foreign Direct Investment destinations.
“It is however important to recognise that our ability to continue attracting investments is dependent on our ability to provide the right quality of human capital, more so as we move to become more knowledge-intensive. Human capital development, apart from being a crucial factor in driving our economy and achieving the target to become a high-income and developed nation, is clearly one of the key determinants to attract private investment as this will be one of the major considerations of investors.
“As SDC has attracted an impressive amount of private investment, at about RM114 billion since its launch in 2008, it is therefore important to ensure that there is a sufficient pool of human resources with the required skills to meet the manpower requirements of the investors,” he said. – BERNAMA

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CM plays key role for Sabah RCI – Pairin

PENAMPANG: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan touched on 20 issues in his policy speech at the party’s annual delegates congress here yesterday.
The Deputy Chief Minister spoke at length about the Royal Commission of Inquiry on the presence of illegal immigrants in Sabah, its responsibilities, the panel appointed and the Terms of Reference (ToR) that had been agreed on.
According to him, the opposition had accused PBS of keeping mum about the illegal immigrant issue in Sabah but they did so because they had forgotten that the setting up of the Commission was through the hard work and determination of PBS in addressing the matter.
“There is also no denying the important role Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman had played and his support for the Commission. He (Musa) had allowed roundtable discussions on the issue of foreign workers between relevant agencies and stakeholders. It is through these brainstorming sessions that many approaches, strategies and solutions were formulated and referred to both the state as well as the federal governments,” he said.
Pairin also advised the public not to be easily swayed by opposition’s allegations against Barisan Nasional (BN) but instead evaluate what the ruling government had done for them with an open heart.
“We understand that the BN government is not perfect but no one can deny that BN has maintained the religious and racial harmony, provide peace and stability to the country since Independence.
“Compared to BN, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) is only capable of acting because in reality, they are not capable to bring peace, stability, harmony and prosperity to Malaysia,” he said and was of the opinion that opposition parties had come together based on politics of convenience as they hate BN, and their leaders have dreams to be the prime minister of Malaysia.
Pairin said the only thing binding them together was their political ideologies, and while they might agree on the name ‘Pakatan’, they differ in all other areas such as registering the coalition, what symbol and flag to use; they have no shadow cabinet and no future prime minister or chief minister.
He added that the public must also be wary of a local opposition party that only cropped up during election time.
He disclosed that this party had borrowed the name of a party from Sarawak and claimed that it was using sensitive racial issues to garner support from the people.
On the power sharing issue among BN component parties, Pairin expressed hope that the matter could be discussed in a workshop so that a solution could be found for all issues raised by Coalition members in the past.
“I urge that the issue be given full attention and discussed openly so that it reflects the BN consensus and the 1Malaysia concept. We can reach a consensus if we can sit together with mutual respect and determine our future in the context of BN’s agenda.
“I propose that the power sharing concept includes political appointments in the state administration, statutory bodies or GLCs as well as government departments at district level. The government should be guided by the power sharing concept under the BN work frame,” the Infrastructure Development Minister stressed.
According to Pairin, in the past few years, there had been numerous accusations made against PBS by individuals or groups who did not understand the party’s politics and struggles all this while.
“They are questioning if PBS is still relevant for Sabah, and although the party is disappointed with the talks, there is no way to avoid the accusations,” he lamented.
“I would like to stress today that what PBS is fighting for since the day it was formed is still relevant. I see that there are some Sabahans who are still set in their old ways because to them PBS is still outside the government and they want our political style to remain as it was when we were in the opposition.
“However, our struggle in defending the welfare of the rakyat in Sabah is not solely dependent on our political style. PBS had chosen the opposition path but we realized that the rakyat’s welfare is more important,” he stressed.
Pairin pointed out that it is important for the BN government to be given the mandate in the coming election so that it can continue with its transformation programs effectively.
He wants PBS to work hard to ensure that BN is victorious and warned its members of expulsion from the party if they are found to have sabotaged the Coalition.

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Najib Understands Needs Of Sabah People Better, Says Pairin

Tambunan, Aug 6 (Bernama) -- Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan expressed his confidence in Prime Minister Datuk Najib Tun Razak's leadership through government transformation programmes, which emphasised the people's needs especially those living in remote areas, as it showed an understanding for the people of Sabah.

"As a young and energetic leader, he (Najib) has brought about changes and progress in a short time to all areas regardless of its location.

"We must support these efforts as transformation programmes will bring benefits, development and improve the lives of people in the state," he said at a Leader With The People ceremony and presentation of contributions in Kampung Nambayan, near here.

Pairin, who is also State Infrastructure Development Minister, said a good relationship between the federal and state government was also positive for Sabah residents.

"So there is no reason for us not to support a leader who brings changes and focuses on the welfare of the people," he added.

-- BERNAMA

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