12th Malaysia Plan: Policies that could help Sabah and Sarawak

DESPITE various efforts to reduce the development gap between Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak over the five-year implementation of the 11th Malaysia Plan (2016-2020), the two states continue to face enormous challenges in catalysing socioeconomic development.

According to the 12th Malaysia Plan (2021-2025) recently announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, both Sabah and Sarawak recorded the lowest GDP growth compared with other Malaysian states – at merely 1.0% and 0.9% per annum respectively between 2016 and 2020. The economic performance of both states during the past five years is lower than the national average of 2.7% per annum.