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By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, July 7: The fact that Sarawak has become a high-income State by the World Bank standards may be aspiring, but the Sarawak government will focus more on increasing Sarawakians’ monthly median household income from about RM4,500 now to RM15,000 in 2030.
Deputy Sarawak Secretary Datuk Muhammad Abdullah Zaidel said to achieve this median household income target, the Sarawak government has introduced education and human capital development initiatives to equip Sarawakians with the right skills to improve their employability and income.
It’s planned that additional 200,000 high-paying jobs will be generated, bringing the total employment to 1.5 million by 2030.
“Frankly, to me, increasing income and opportunities for young Sarawakians to secure high-income jobs and to improve living standard is more meaningful than the GNI (gross national income) per capita, which is broadly an indicator of a state’s economic capacity,” Muhd Abdullah told DayakDaily.
He attributed the latest success achieved by Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg, describing it as a testament to the latter’s pragmatic leadership and economic philosophy.
“I believe Sarawak’s economy will climb higher as public and private partnerships continue to value and enhance the economy. Efficiencies will lead to higher productivity focus and improve household income.
“Accordingly, the right private partnerships are key, in my opinion, for Sarawak’s economy to leapfrog higher,” said Muhd Abdullah.
He said Sarawak aspired to grow at between six and eight per cent annually for the years to come to achieve RM282 billion gross domestic product as enshrined in the Post-Covid Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030. — DayakDaily
