The Sabah state government is committed to ensuring the area bordering Kalimantan, Indonesia will be developed to provide benefits, especially in the economic sector to Malaysia and Indonesia.
Chief Minister Datuk Hajiji Noor said this commitment was also important to ensure Sabah could fully benefit from major developments expected to take place, following Indonesia’s capital city relocation from Jakarta to Kalimantan.
“The Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (SEDIA) will lead efforts to develop Malaysia-Indonesia border areas under the Sabah Maju Jaya Roadmap and the 12th Malaysia Plan,” he said.
He added the state government would develop a border town in Serudong-Simanggaris in Kalabakan taking into account the economic potential that the move could bring to Sabah.
He said this in his speech at the online launching ceremony of a book entitled ‘Perpindahan Ibu Kota Indonesia ke Kalimantan: Implikasinya ke atas Negeri Sabah’ (Indonesia’s Capital City Move to Kalimantan: Implications for Sabah) hosted by Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) on Thursday (Dec 16).
Hajiji said the positive economic and social impacts of the move would be felt with the development of the border town involving the construction of a road linking Kalabakan with Simanggaris and a customs, immigration and quarantine complex for security checks.
He said the state government viewed the move as an issue that needed immediate action at all levels due to Sabah’s unique relationship with Kalimantan.
Source: The Edge Markets