Musa condemns allegations that Sabah is undeveloped, impoverished
KOTA KINABALU, April 25 (Bernama) -- Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman today condemned insinuations by parties he described as malicious, that Sabah was undeveloped and impoverished.
He said the state's achievements in various sectors since Barisan Nasional took control 15 years ago, compared to the period before that, was proof that the allegations were baseless.
"Firstly, in the 30 years from the early 1970s till 2000, the state's income increased by RM1 billion to RM1700 million in 2004. In 15 years thereafter, with a stable BN government, we managed to increase the state's revenue threefold, that is, RM3 billion to reach RM4000 million today," he said.
He said this while launching the Sabah BN manifesto themed, 'Tanah Airku Maju' tonight.
According to Musa, Sabah's gross domestic product (GDP) increased from RM59.5 billion in 2011 to RM73.8 billion in 2016. The achievement placed Sabah's economy fifth among that of other states.
"We will not stop here. Our target is to develop Sabah, the land below the wind, till the pinnacle. So those claims that Sabah is the poorest state is a big lie," he said.
Musa said Sabah had also successfully diversified its economic resources to multiply its earnings and reduce dependence on timber as a source of revenue from 85 per cent to 13 per cent currently.
He denied that the BN government had exploited the state's forests, pointing to the fact that Sabah has the largest forest reserves in the country or 53 per cent of the size of the state.
Sabah, he further pointed out, had the widest totally protected area (TPA) involving almost 30 per cent of the state's land mass and exceeding by more than 10 per cent, the international standard, besides the 700 thousand hectares of replanted forest.
"What I have mentioned is only part of a long list of achievements and the track record of our party and government are stated in Sabah BN's manifesto for GE14.
"We don't boast that we are perfect. There is a lot more that we need to do in the interest of the people. But to accuse us of leading Sabah backwards from wealth to poverty is unjustified. The record speaks for itself," he said.
-- BERNAMA
