Warisan S Pitch Economic Boom For Sabah Putrajaya Rail Network Dams

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SABAH POLLS | Warisan president Shafie Apdal has framed the party’s mission and vision as a long-term rebuilding plan for Sabah, centring on the realisation of the state’s 40 percent revenue entitlement.
Shafie stressed that the party is not financially threatening Putrajaya, but that the revenue could be a catalyst for what he described as “shared prosperity.”
The former chief minister said Sabah can only move forward with the fiscal room to plan its own priorities.
He argued that once the state’s economy expands, the federal government’s remaining 60 percent share would also grow significantly in value.
“Imagine if the 40 percent is given back and Sabah develops. If the federal government’s 60 percent is now worth RM100 billion, a growing Sabah could make it RM300 billion. That is shared prosperity. That is far better.
“The better Sabah grows, the more the federation gains,” he added, speaking to reporters after unveiling the party’s development blueprint in Penampang last night.
Warisan president Shafie ApdalShafie had earlier laid out the party’s manifesto before a crowd of around 1,000 visitors at the Mega Warisan Rally involving the Kota Kinabalu, Penampang, and Putatan zones.
Shafie said his pitch was to build a clean and capable government, unite Sabahans across race and religion, and use the 40 percent entitlement as the foundation for the state’s development agenda.
“We want Sabahans to determine the kind of progress they want, not others imposing it on us,” he said.
Five economic zones as Sabah’s growth engine
Warisan’s plan maps Sabah into five economic zones, each designed around the strengths and needs of local communities.
In Zone A, covering Beaufort, Sipitang, Keningau, Pensiangan, and Tenom, the party proposes a cluster of agro-based industries.
Shafie said the plan includes establishing a latex factory, food-processing hubs, vegetable farms, and cattle programmes, alongside new tourism sites in Kuala Penyu and Tenom.
On the west coast (Zone B), Warisan wants a major upgrade of Sabah’s transport system, including a central transit hub in Putatan and a new rail station in Tamparuli.
Papar would simultaneously be transformed into a university township, supported by new industrial sites and improved public infrastructure.
The north (Zone C) is anchored by Kudat’s proposed deep-sea port, which Warisan says will give Sabah direct export routes to Hong Kong, China, and Singapore.
Shafie said coconut and mango estates, sea cucumber farming, and a local motorcycle assembly plant are among the industries lined up to supply the export corridor.
Rail link as new economy’s ‘spine’
A cross-Sabah rail network is one of the most ambitious elements of the plan.
The proposed line connects Sipitang, Keningau, Kudat, Sandakan, and Tawau, enabling farmers, fisherfolk, and small producers to move their goods directly to ports without relying on expensive road logistics.
Shafie said such an economy cannot operate on ad hoc federal allocations.
“Our agriculture, our fisheries, our resources - they can all grow, but we need the fiscal space to plan,” he said.
Hydro dams, food security, and industrial revival
Two hydroelectric dams in Kinabatangan and Segama form the backbone of Sabah’s long-term energy and water security agenda.
The dams are expected to reduce flooding and stabilise electricity supply, especially in the east coast districts that depend heavily on the west coast grid.
Shafie said the facilities would also generate the long-term revenue needed to support a decade of industrial expansion.
In Tongod, Warisan plans to revive paddy cultivation through the expansion of the Terusan Sapi irrigation system, while large-scale processing hubs in Tawau and Sandakan - including a downstream palm oil cluster - are expected to create tens of thousands of jobs for locals, he said.
Shafie also reaffirmed Warisan’s commitment to restoring the Sabah Health Ministry and the Education and Innovation Ministry.
Both state ministries were created during his tenure as chief minister from 2018 to 2020.
He said local control is essential to address shortages of doctors, specialists, and teachers, and to enable Sabah to develop its own school syllabus and expand its healthcare network. - Mkini

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