KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government has alienated over 16,180ha of land from the Sabah Forest Industry (SFI) concession area as kampung reserves, says Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
"The state government has gazetted these kampung reserves, which proves it is attentive to the needs of the people.
"At the last state assembly sitting, we approved more than 16,180ha of state land from SFI for this purpose," he said at the launch of the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) Kemabong election machinery at the Kemabong sub-district in Tenom on Saturday (Nov 8).
Hajiji said that under the GRS-led state government, land belonging to government-linked companies (GLC) were also alienated and given to the people.
"We want the people to live comfortably. One of the pillars under Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) is the people's prosperity," he said.
Previously, there were only about 30,000 people listed as recipients of welfare aid, but under the present state government, the number has risen to 70,000, he said.
Hajiji said the state government also acquired much from the landmark Commercial Collaboration Agreement (CCA) with PETRONAS, reiterating that Sabah now has greater say and bigger participation in the oil and gas industry.
"In the oil and gas services and equipment sector, we now have more than 80 local vendors involved compared to just 10 in 2022," he said, adding that these vendors now command 36% of the contract market share.
