Sabah: Sabah Deputy Chief Minister III Datuk Ewon Benedick has called on government-linked companies (GLCs) under his ministry to increase their revenues so they can pay higher dividends to the government. The Sabah Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Transport emphasized the crucial role these GLCs, including the Sabah Economic Development Corporation (SEDCO), play in advancing entrepreneurship and investment within the state.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Ewon expressed his appreciation for the efforts made so far but highlighted the need for agencies and subsidiaries under SEDCO to achieve greater successes to enhance revenue in the form of dividends. He stressed the importance of these dividends for Sabah’s development, whether they are reinvested into the ministry or allocated for other developmental purposes such as poverty eradication, education, and public welfare.
Ewon also discussed the optimization of cooperation between the state and federal governments through existing coordination platforms, particularly the Sabah Entrepreneurship Development Coordination Committee. This cooperation aims to ensure that the state’s development needs are adequately considered in the federal budget. Ewon’s primary focus is on ensuring that more Sabahans have stable incomes through entrepreneurship and a more dynamic job market.
He stated that his major priority is to develop a workforce of Sabahans with steady incomes, either through entrepreneurship or employment with companies owned by local entrepreneurs. Ewon expressed his desire to move Sabah beyond its association with poverty and to provide job opportunities and incomes for all Sabahans, including graduates and young people.
Ewon added that with well-executed plans, Sabah can improve its residents’ incomes over the next five years and shed the stigma of being the poorest state. He also noted that the upcoming state budget, to be tabled on Dec 12, is expected to maintain the foundations of the existing plan, as it was prepared before the formation of the new cabinet.