Sabah to establish sea route between Kudat and Philippines, says chief minister

KOTA KINABALU, May 29 — The state government has proposed to establish a sea link between Kudat and Palawan province in the Philippines in a bid to revitalise the economy in the northern Sabahan district.

Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said that the issue of setting up a sea route was discussed with Transport Minister Anthony Loke who had toured Kudat with Kudat MP Datuk Verdon Bahanda.

“By establishing ferry services, barter trading at Kudat could be revived,” he said during the post-Cabinet meeting of the Chief Minister’s Department at Menara Kinabalu here, today.

Barter trading between the two countries’ ports would help to revive Kudat’s sluggish economy, said Hajiji, adding that the opening of Kudat port may also be a berthing point for ships sailing from southern Mindanao to Labuan.

“Presently, sea vessels carrying goods from Southern Mindanao go directly to Labuan. If we open up Kudat port, we could tap into the Southern Mindanao-Labuan shipping route,” he said.

According to him, Kudat Port would have all the necessary facilities, especially the Customs, Immigration, Quarantine and Security (CiQS) checkpoints.

The matter is also being discussed with the state police commissioner from the security angle for deliberations at the state security council.

In other matters, Hajiji said all state government officers must fully understand and appreciate its “Sabah First” policy, which is to prioritise Sabah’s interests in all endeavours.

“Foreign and non-Sabah investors looking to set up business ventures here must have local Sabah interest holding a 30 per cent stake in the venture,” he said.

The chief minister also announced that Sabah will host this year’s Malaysia Day celebrations on September 16.

Malaysia Day is the day on which the Malaysian federation deal was inked between Federation of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah, and Sarawak in 1963.

State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew will co-chair the organising committee with Minister of Communications, Fahmi Fadzil, Hajiji added.