CHIEF Minister Abang Johari Openg said political stability and the absence of social unrest in Sarawak are the two key reasons that drove foreign investors to invest in the state.

Referring to UOB’s Global Economics and Markets Research report released last week, the chief minister told members of the ethnic Orang Ulu community in Miri today that the political instability in the peninsula, churned by endless quests for the prime minister’s post, is the reason why foreign investors shied away from states there and placed their money in Sarawak.

In the UOB report, Sarawak’s manufacturing sector attracted RM15.8 billion in FDIs in the first nine months of this year.

With Sabah, which came in second with RM11.9 billion, the two Borneo states attracted more than one-third of overall manufacturing investment in the country.

In the peninsula, Penang’s RM10.6 billion FDIs made it the leading state there followed by Selangor (RM7.3 billion), and Johor (RM5.7 billion).

The report also stated that Sarawak will drive the Malaysian economy, a point Abang Johari shared with those attending an earth-breaking ceremony for the Orang Ulu community’s new cultural centre.

“Which investors dare place their investments in the state that is not stable?

“We received the most because we are stable,” he said in his speech.

He also said that despite the differences in cultural and religious beliefs among the various races, their respect and tolerance for one another created the safe and stable environment conducive for investments.

“We respect one another. We all feel we are inclusive.” – December 15, 2020.