KOTA KINABALU: Sabah's gross domestic product (GDP) rose to RM83.2bil last year, announces Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
Hajiji said the hike from RM82.1bil recorded in 2023 reflected a momentum of continuous improvement and positive development in the state.
Describing the performance as encouraging, he, however, stressed the need for a paradigm shift to reinforce implementation efforts and warned implementers against becoming complacent.
"We must change our attitude to focus solely on the negatives without acknowledging or giving due credit to the successes and contributions made to the state," he said when chairing the State Development Action Council meeting here on Tuesday.
Hajiji said the achievement was due to cooperation from various quarters in the state.
"If we continue to contribute our energy positively through close cooperation, we can successfully implement our Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya aspirations," he said.
He urged the relevant agencies to ensure all initiatives and programmes under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) and Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya development blueprint are implemented to spur economic growth and to uplift the people's livelihood.
Under the 13MP, the Chief Minister said the state government has formulated the State Strategic Development Hala Tuju as a proactive step to boost the economy and development from 2026 to 2030.
"It is also an early framework that takes into consideration the policy, blueprint and
current development plan," he said.
He urged the state leadership and department heads at all levels to go down to the ground more often to monitor the ongoing programmes and projects.
He said a total of 1,265 projects and programmes must be completed within this year.
According to him, Sabah is among the highest recipients of Budget 2025, with an allocation of RM6.7bil.
"This proves that the voices of the people and leaders of Sabah are heard at the federal level.
"This also shows that we are very serious and will strive to boost the state's development," he said.
