Technical issues main hurdle to get NCA’s carbon credit sales start, says Sabah Chief Minister

KOTA KINABALU: Technical issues seem to be the biggest hurdle to overcome in efforts to get the controversial Nature Conservation Agreement (NCA) for carbon credit sales starting.

Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor (pic) said while the state had no problem with the NCA deal starting, there were still many technical issues to resolve.

"There are many technical matters to be addressed and looked into. Sabah has no problem with this agreement," he said after attending the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) Christmas and New Year open house here, Friday (Dec 29).

He said there were still other aspects of the deal to be finalised and looked into before it could be implemented.

"But it will be implemented because this is a good venture for Sabah and we will get revenue from it," said Hajiji, adding existing rules and regulations needed to be abided to as well.

This NCA deal mooted by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan was controversial due to various reasons, among them including the fact that the agreement was made 'secretly' and only made known to the public after an online portal reported about it in 2021.

Kitingan had mentioned that the 100-year deal involving up to 2,000ha of forest reserve lands in Sabah, had appointed Singapore-based company Hoch Standard Pte Ltd to trade the idle carbon and realise its monetary values through science.

Earlier during the open house, Hajiji reiterated calls for unity to be preserved among the multi-racial Sabahans.

He said festivities and open houses allow for generation-long practices and togetherness to be preserved and continued for years to come.

He said Sabahans had been celebrating each other’s festivals for decades and this unique trait must be passed down to the future generations.