KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will focus on downstream industries to capitalise on its abundant natural resources and create employment for the people.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said among the downstream activities that had been undertaken by government-linked companies (GLC) involved the oil palm sector via the opening of a factory to produce cooking oil.
He said this was achieved with the opening of a factory by Benta Edible Oil Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Benta Wawasan Sdn Bhd, a unit of Yayasan Sabah. Benta Edible Oil produces Benta Enak Sedap Sehat (BESS) cooking oil brand.
The opening of the factory created 30 jobs for the local residents, he said during the visit by the Malaysian National News Agency’s (Bernama) chief executive officer Nurini Kassim and Bernama editor-in-chief Datuk Mokhtar Hussein at his office here, today.
They were accompanied by Bernama deputy editor-in-chief (news) Abdul Rahman Ahmad to explain about Bernama’s services in line with current developments and role the agency can play in helping the state government disseminate information about their programmes for the benefit of the people.
Mohd Shafie said another factory to produce cooking oil would be built in Sandakan by another GLC, Sawit Kinabalu Sdn Bhd.
He said he had proposed to the Sabah state economic adviser Datuk Yap Yun Fook to build a factory to produce pineapple and pomelo juice in Keningau.
“We (Sabah) have natural resources but (they) were not taken advantage of previously by venturing into downstream industries. It’s time we do this to create employment.
“The state government needs to step forward in line with the commitment to take care of the people’s wellbeing,” said Mohd Shafie.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters later, Mokhtar said the visit was in conjunction with Bernama management’s visit to Sabah to improve its services to customers in the state.
The management team also visited a Bernama client, Utusan Borneo, to get feedback on the agency’s services.- Feb 08, 2020, Bernama.
