KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor has directed each state ministry to table its reports on the implementation and achievement status of the Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ).
He directed the state secretary to table the report annually beginning March 29, and also hold an open day for the people to listen, see and feel the meaning and value of the SMJ.
"I also want federal agencies in Sabah to present their planning and status of the programmes as well as projects being implemented for the people to see and understand," he said during the state civil service assembly at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) here.
He hoped the state Federal Secretary's office will coordinate the participation of federal agencies during the open day as the success of the government development agenda must also be seen and felt by the people.
Initial economic indicators also showed that Sabah is on the right track in rehabilitating its economy and registering an all-time high revenue of RM5.449 billion for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2021, he said.
Hajiji who is also state Finance Minister attributed the success to teamwork and a full understanding of the state development direction by civil servants.
The spread of Covid-19 became critical after the state election in Sept 2020 requiring the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS)-led government to formulate an economic recovery strategy to launch the five year Hala Tuju SMJ on March 29, 2021, he said.
"The success of this development plan depends on the acceptance, unity, commitment and will of the people as well as civil service personnel as major stakeholders," he said.
Just as the state crest belongs to all Sabahans, he hoped everyone accepts that they are heading in the same direction via the SMJ.
"At the same time, I am confident that all understand that a progressive and successful Sabah is important for Malaysia as a whole. The state's economic growth has a direct impact on the national economic growth rate.
"As an important region, Sabah's progress will strengthen the Federation of Malaysia," he said.
Hajiji said the state government deeply appreciated the high commitment of the federal government to resolve matters arising from the 1963 Malaysia Agreement (MA63) and the amendment to the Federal Constitution recently.
The formalising of the Commercial Collaboration Agreement (CCA) between the state and Petronas on December 7 last year was also due to the political will of the federal government to give Sabah greater say, participation and revenue in the oil and gas industry, he said.
In less than a month after the CCA formalisation, the results can be seen through the launch of the Sabah Gas Masterplan, while Petronas has begun to fulfil its responsibility by paying the State Sales Tax on Petroleum products, he said.
"Due to cooperation and effective strategies, today the GRS-led government has successfully realised the people's aspirations," he said.
"Public service is part of our successes, which means political will must be followed up by implementation that requires support from public service personnel," he said.
The chief minister was confident that under the Malaysian Family spirit, the 20,363 state and 103,030 federal civil servants were capable of ensuring the successful implementation of the SMJ.