As we Sabahans herald Christmas and welcome 2018, united as one people in harmony and respect for each other, let us reflect on the progress made thus far and what can speed up this progress through self-help.

Over the last 10 years, Sabah has made impressive progress in many ways. The government and administrative system is working very well as confirmed and reaffirmed over the years by the latest auditor-general’s reports. In case there is any misapprehension of its importance, a well-managed government and administrative system is the foundation stone on which we can continue to build the future of our state. Such a system must include a sound and solid financial management of Sabah’s budget, revenue, expenditure and most importantly, state reserves. Sabah must have a strong financial base as, without it, we will depend on charity for survival. Economic progress is impossible if Sabah’s treasury is empty or worse, in deficit. Who is going to give us the charity? For how long? In any case, no charity is free as we found out, much to our pain, in the mid-1980s.

Among the many economic benefits of a well-managed government and administrative system is that all the government-linked companies (GLCs) have become profitable, including Sabah Foundation, which is Sabah’s greatest pride, with revenue exceeding RM1 billion and profit of several hundred million ringgit. This achievement is all the more remarkable as revenue dependency from timber has become significant. Sabah Foundation’s effort to diversify its business base is to be emulated. The performance of Sabah’s GLCs is probably the best among all the states.

Thanks to Tan Sri Musa Aman, a role model and leader for all Sabahans, we continue to enjoy racial and religious harmony, which is our most precious heritage. It was most gratifying to see Musa taking part in the pre-Christmas celebration in Kota Kinabalu. He has made it a point to promote religious harmony among all Sabahans, including through his yearly budget allocations for churches, temples, and Chinese independent schools. This harmony is crucial for our future economic progress as without it, it is very difficult for us to look forward to the future with certainty

On the economic front, all the economic pillars in the context of Halajutu are doing well. The most outstanding one is tourism which has seen an increase in arrivals and receipts every year, when many countries have experienced declines in both. Thanks to the increasing number of Chinese tourists, hotels in Sabah have been enjoying unprecedented occupancy. In anticipation of more coming, many new hotels are being constructed. In fact, there is a construction boom going nicely in Kota Kinabalu, Semporna, and Kundasang.

Sandakan, Tawau, and many other places in rural areas have great tourism potential. Businessmen in these places must work to create good attractions for tourists to visit them. The trend has already started in Semporna, with many homestays in the interior. Sabahans must create many more interesting places as the Chinese government has told Musa to expect 1 million Chinese visitors.

With the expected completion of the Sabahan International Convention Centre (SICC) at the end of 2018, a new era in tourism will commence. SICC, which is Musa’s brainchild, will be a new game changer in our tourism industry. It will open up a very different and rewarding dimension for Sabah’s Y generation in employment and business opportunities.

By the end of 2017, Musa would have put in place most of the macro and micro-economic fundamentals for Sabah’s 2018 economic growth and beyond. But let me ask Sabahans this question: Are Sabahans chasing after economic progress with vigour? Are we, individually and collectively doing enough to contribute to our own economic progress? In other words, are we helping ourselves so that we can gain maximum benefit from Halajutu? Are we waiting for manna from heaven to drop onto our lap and watching by indolently at non-Sabahans grabbing the opportunities? These are some questions that we need to ask ourselves with honesty as we begin celebrating the year-end festivities.

History tells us that in the mid-1980s, our political and business leaders sold hundreds of thousand of acres of palm oil land and other state government assets to non-Sabahans for quick profit. They were unwilling to invest and work on the land. The result, as we can see today, is that we have the largest palm oil acreage but only a small percentage belong to Sabahans. They have sold our economic heritage away. Sabahans must never let this happen again. We must grab the opportunities that are being provided in the context of Halajutu with the assurance that “seek and you shall find” rings true. We must also reflect on this: If non-Sabahans can see the opportunities, why are we blind to them?

Let us revert to macro and micro fundamentals being in place. They are many but let me point out a few macro ones first. The most important are the administrative and government system, our strong state reserves, favourable investment climate, and good security, which, together, have boosted investor confidence. Equally important is the cordial federal-state relationship cultivated by Musa’s “quiet diplomacy”. Much more can be achieved without shouting, screaming and political brinkmanship. The Sarawak government may shout for all it wants. Let it be.

Some important micro ones are the SICC, tourism relationship with China and airlines in general, the POIC (palm oil industrial cluster) and the very substantive investment in oil and gas. More is on the way.The recent prospect of exporting durians to China, is an interesting new activity. Already some Peninsular Malaysians are here scouting for land for this purpose as land there is scarce and expensive. The micro level is really looking very attractive but we must organise ourselves to derive maximum economic benefits.

With due respect, I think Sabahans must be more aggressive to reap all the favourable macro and micro fundamentals already put in place by Musa. Below are some areas that Sabahans, especially Y generation Sabahans, can get excited about. Sabah’s tourism receipt reached RM7.25 billion in 2016. This is a huge amount. It is almost twice the amount of Sabah’s state budget. Within this RM7.52 billion are numerous value-added and new business opportunities waiting to be tapped. This tourism receipt can only get bigger with Musa having secured a promise of another 1 million Chinese tourists, SICC and other developments. Tourism’s big take-off has arrived for us to promote large bodied aircraft and more airlines. Sadly, I don’t see many Sabahans being enthusiastic about the many opportunities that will come. We must act now before other people grab these.

The Sarawak natives have no rights in their own land. As we celebrate Xmas and new year, let us wish them the best in their fight for land rights. The Federal Court ruled against them on Nov 7, 2017. They demonstrated on Nov 13, 2017. Fortunately, native land title rights have been included in Sabah’s Land Ordinance from day one. Sarawak natives are still fighting for something like Sabah’s Native Title. Many of Sabah’s bumiputeras are in fact well off with many Native Titles that are worth a lot. They can be much better off by undertaking more development, as many have already done.

Over the years, social NGOs, especially those headed by ladies, have upped their contributions tremendously. However, the same cannot be said for the NGOs in commerce and economics. The chambers of commerce, especially the Chinese ones, were in the forefront of business and economic development. These chambers have become lethargic and toothless, in danger of becoming irrelevant. Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) has invited the chambers’ inputs on the “Competitiveness Master Plan for KK” and “DBKK Economic Bureau”. The representative from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce is always a low-level staff who sits silently. If Sabah is to have a heightened rate of economic growth, senior officials from these chambers with authority and knowledge in the economy and business must contribute. The chambers should play a proactive role in assisting the state government by giving ideas and policy recommendations to speed up Sabah’s economic development.

Lastly, I would like to see the Yang Berhormats from government and opposition transforming themselves from “90% political leaders 10% economic leaders” into “90% economic leaders and 10% political leaders.” Excessive politics is counter-productive to economic growth. Lee Kuan Yew had imposed this on his YBs. His first priority was for his YBs to prove their ability to lead the grassroots supporters to economic prosperity.

Many are familiar with this old saying “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink”. The fruits are almost ripe for picking [macro and micro components are in place]. Do we have the urge to find the ladder to harvest them? Are Sabahans looking for the low-hanging fruits only because they are easy picks? Don’t let non-Sabahans harvest what should rightfully be ours. Let’s us adopt a new year resolution for all Sabahans, especially the Y generation, to chase after economic progress with aggressive vigour so that we can create more prosperity, business opportunities, new and better rewarding jobs. Doubling this effort in 2018 will be the biggest economic boost for Halajutu and for Sabah.

John Lo is an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.