THE Sabah government is committed to reducing the number of non-locals working in the state’s public service, said Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal.

He said of the 139 federal agencies and government-linked companies in the state, only 46 are headed by locals.

“Of the 79,510 staff members of these federal agencies, 22,021 are non-Sabahans.

“The state government will ensure that the Malaysia Agreement 1963 is adhered to, and we are committed to realising everything contained in the deal.”

He was responding to additional questions by Kuala Penyu assemblyman Limus Jury on the state government’s efforts to realise a localised public sector and get more federal allocation for Sabah.

On the allocation, Shafie said what matters most at this point is for the state to get enough funds to implement priority projects.

“There is no use getting hundreds of billions of ringgit if all the projects are not executed properly.“

He said refurbishment projects and school repairs carried out by the federal Public Works Department (PWD) have been plagued with problems, whereas the ones handled by the state PWD have been completed on time.

He said the state government is better able to manage allocations than federal agencies, and called for an end to “politically driven” projects.

“This is why we want all federal projects to first get the consent of the state government. All projects must be based on the needs of Sabahans.

“We don’t want to hear about any more projects that are simply to enrich politicians and private firms,” said Shafie, adding that for projects to be properly implemented, local councils must have their own blueprints. – November 12, 2018.