CM: Sabah GLC heads to refrain from announcing development projects without state Cabinet’s approval

KOTA KINABALU, Jan 10 — The Sabah Cabinet has instructed all heads of state government-linked companies (GLCs) to refrain from announcing or issuing statements on development projects without prior approval of the cabinet.

Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said all state GLCs are required to refer to their respective ministers or the state cabinet before entering into any agreement to avoid future complications.

“The cabinet views the matter seriously,” he said in a statement after chairing a Sabah Cabinet meeting here today.

Hajiji said the cabinet had also agreed to set up a task force to monitor the water and electricity issues in Sabah, headed by State Secretary Datuk Seri Safar Untong.

“The task force will meet once a week or every fortnight to look into all the issues pertaining to water and electricity supply,” he said.

He also acknowledged the strong performance of SMJ Energy Sdn Bhd, a newly-formed State Government subsidiary company, which has paid its RM5 million loan to the State Government in less than a year of its inception.

SMJ Energy has also successfully issued its RM900 billion sukuk wakalah under the company’s multi-currency sukuk wakalah programme of up to RM10 billion in nominal value last year.

“From a zero-asset company, it has more than RM5 billion assets as of December 2023,” he said. — Bernama