“There are those who have not paid. So, during my tenure as chief minister, I am making it a point that all of them must pay at least RM1 million every year,” he said in a statement.

He said he wanted all GLCs to fulfil their duty to pay “good” dividends to boost the state’s coffers and help finance more development for Sabahans.

“Those entrusted to lead and manage GLCs must perform,” he said.

In 2021, the state government received a total of RM114 million in dividends from GLCs and statutory bodies, a 12.9% increase compared to 2020.

In March, Hajiji told the GLCs to pay an annual dividend of at least RM1 million to the state government beginning this year.

However, he said the Sabah government would not depend on GLCs alone to fill the state’s coffers and it needed more investors to come in.

Hajiji said one of the features of the Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ), or Sabah development blueprint, was to create an investor-friendly policy. Within one-and-a-half years since the launch of SMJ, more than 10 companies have invested in Sabah.

Through SMJ, he said Sabah was making strides in its economic progress and this was evident when the state registered RM5.44 billion in revenue last year, the biggest in its history.