KK & Sabah Newsflash

Minister of Special Tasks Datuk Teo Chee Kang sounded off a message addressed to young entrepreneurs to do things differently and utilize the digital world in order to be successful.  He was at the Persatuan Usahawan Maju Malaysia (PUMM) Sabah State Liaison Installation dinner in Kota Kinabalu marking its second anniversary.

Entrepreneurs Told to Utilize Digital World

He said that a ‘smart and green’ Sabah by 2035 is the goal of the Sabah Long Term Strategic Plan in which entrepreneur’s participation is a crucial factor for its success.  The trend is utilizing the digital world or internet platforms for the development of software and computer systems applications, citing Airbnb, Lazada, Grabtaxi and IBM Watson as examples.  He added that if a business cannot be accessed through smartphone, then it will not be much of a success. However, he stressed that entrepreneurs should always remember to be lean, simple, inclusive and clean or green.

Another aspect to be considered is on the needed capital to start up the business.  He said that the Federal Government has allocated a portion of the National Budget 2017 for this purpose and he urged PUMM Sabah through its leader Dato George Lim to assist entrepreneurs to access these funds.

Other indications that the Federal Government is serious in this matter is the reduction of the tax rate for the chargeable income of the first RM500,000 of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the creation of the National SME Development Council chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.  He added that more policies favorable for SMEs is expected to be formulated.

Sabah Projects on the Works

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of the Economic Planning Unit (EPU), Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan announced at a breaking-of-fast event that the Tanjung Aru Eco-Development Project (TAED) will push through with the EPU providing RM500 million facilitation fund.  He said that the TAED will make Tanjung Aru as the best tourism spot in the region and Sabah will benefit much from the project.  The project was presented by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman and the Sabah Economic Planning Unit to the Economic Council meeting and it was approved.

Rahman admits that Sabah has qualities that make it unique from the other states in the federation and it is important to address these qualities.  As Minister for EPU, he said that he will be giving his attention to Sabah without compromising the other parts of Malaysia that also need his attention.

One of the things that he wants to address is the public transportation system in Kota Kinabalu which presently takes two hours to reach the city if one is coming from the north.  The preparation of a Kota Kinabalu transportation master plan is needed and might include a Bus Rapid Transit System that requires a lane solely for buses.  Although he personally prefers the Light Rail Transit (LRT), this needs more study for its viability.

KL Diocese Leads Sharing of Online Resources

In the Regional Commission on Social Communications (RCSC) meeting on June 12 – 14, 2017, held in Kuching, the Kuala Lumpur diocese took the lead in the sharing of online resources among the dioceses.  In his keynote address which he based on the pope’s World Day of Communications message (Communicating Hope and Trust in Our Time), Bishop Cornelius Sim, the episcopal president, said that it is advantageous to use the Jesus lens in looking at peoples and events and to include more human-interest stories in their reports and posts.