Safar (third right) and Rosmadi (third left) with guests during the SMJ-EKOB 2023 programme.
KOTA KINABALU (Dec 14): The State Government will explore the Blue Economy in collaboration with foreign investors who specialise in the field.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said the Blue Economy was included in the 12th Malaysia Plan 2021-2025 as an approach to stimulate the national economy, and the State Government intends to explore the field for economic development, creating job opportunities, and improving the people’s living standards.
Hajiji said the Blue Economy promises great potential in various sectors such as fisheries and aquaculture, logistics, tourism, renewable energy, mineral resources, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, blue carbon, waste management and pollution control, research and development, and marine infrastructure.
“When I led a delegation to the Global Chinese Economic and Technology Summit (GCET) in China last November, I had invited investors to explore the Blue Economy concept with the State Government to develop the food processing sector. This is because Sabah has the longest beach in Malaysia with more than 1,000 kilometres of potential fish farming and other sea activities,” he said.
Hajiji said this when officiating the Synedrio Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) conference: Exploring New Treasures Through the Blue Economy Concept in Sabah (SMJ-EKOB 2023) with the theme ‘Beyond Limits, Unleashing Economy’ at Le Meridien Hotel here on Thursday.
The text of his speech was read by Sabah State Secretary Datuk Seri Sr Safar Untong.
Hajiji said he had also asked investors to consider putting money into the energy sector here, including fossil fuel and renewable energy sources such as solar and wind energy.
Therefore, he hopes that all parties involved in the Blue Economy concept will work hard to attract more foreign investors, including from China, to invest in the said concept.
“We have to realise that in the past, this was just an internal economy concept, but now the field has become a must to explore.
“Moreover, the geographical position of Sabah is very strategic as it is surrounded by an ocean spanning 37,300 square kilometres (sqkm), as well as its continental shelf of 116,800 sqkm and a coastline spanning 2,383 kilometres.
“Sabah has huge potential with its wealth of marine biodiversity. Therefore, the government is committed and takes seriously the development of the Blue Economy as we understand how big its implications are to the people, environment, and future,” he said.
Hajiji said the Blue Economy concept was introduced in 2012 by the United Nations (UN), which refers to the sustainable utilisation of marine resources for economic growth, improved living standards and the creation of job opportunities, while maintaining the sustainability of the marine ecosystem.
In an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) conference in Brunei Darussalam in 2021, the delegation including Malaysia had agreed to adopt Blue Economy in the ASEAN region.
Hajiji added that the SMJ Development Plan 2021 – 2025 which was launched on 29th March 2021, outlines the state’s development strategy by optimally utilising all the resources available in Sabah.
He said the nature of the SMJ Plan already provides room for exploration of new methods of resources to improve economic development and well-being of the people, at the same time preserving the environmental ecosystem.
“This is contained in the main core of the SMJ Plan under element J: Networking Infrastructure and Green Sustainability, which in principle supports the agenda of developing the Blue Economy in Sabah,” he said.
Regarding the SMJ-EKOB 2023 programme, Hajiji said it is a platform to create an economic framework that will determine the direction of the Blue Economy for Sabah.
Also present was SMJ Secretariat chief coordinating officer Datuk Rosmadi Sulai.
