5 days ago
RM1.33 billion spent on human capital under Sabah Maju Jaya
Published on: Thursday, July 10, 2025
Published on: Thu, Jul 10, 2025
By: Ricardo Unto Text Size: Nizam ( far right ) with other State Assemblymen before the start of the session. Kota Kinabalu: The State Government has spent RM1.33 billion on human capital development under the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) 1.0 Development Plan from 2021 to 2024, with RM848.26 million directed at various educational aid programmes and RM485 million allocated specifically for talent development. Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister, Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan, said during question time in the State Legislative Assembly on Tuesday that a total of 14 new initiatives valued at RM164.14 million had benefited 210,918 students between 2021 and this year. 'To meet future job market demands, the Sabah State Government established the Sabah TVET Council (MTS) on 19 May 2025 to coordinate over 160 technical and vocational training institutions across the state,' he said in response to a question from Nabawan assemblyman Datuk Abdul Ghani Mohamed Yassin. In the area of social wellbeing, Nizam said RM1.49 billion was disbursed between 2021 and 2024 to assist 336,076 recipients through various welfare schemes such as the General Aid Scheme (SBAM) and Orphans Aid Scheme (SBAY). The government also launched the SMJ Friendly Homes Initiative on Sept 28, 2022, with 7,482 units built or under construction as of June this year, alongside the Sentuhan Kasih Rakyat (Syukur) programme, which provides RM300 monthly for 12 months to 100,000 low-income households under a RM358.5 million allocation. He added that under the Sabah Sejahtera Health Aid Scheme, 100 haemodialysis machines worth RM4.5 million were distributed to 24 hospitals and one clinic, replacing ageing equipment, with an additional RM4 million in treatment subsidies provided. The early-stage 'Program Homeward' initiative has also proven impactful, with 1,169 beneficiaries recorded by mid-this year. On environmental sustainability, the Sabah Forestry Department is working to increase the size of Totally Protected Areas (TPAs), currently at 2 million hectares, with plans to gazette another 220,000 hectares to meet the 30 percent target or 2.2 million hectares of total land area by 2025 under the Heart of Borneo (HoB) initiative. As for marine conservation, the State has established 1.015 million hectares of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), which will continue to be expanded to benefit future generations. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
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