KOTA KINABALU, A record revenue of RM7 billion last year made Sabah among the top six contributors to Malaysia's 2023 gross domestic product (GDP), said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor. Hajiji said figures released by the Statistics Department of Malaysia in July showed that Sabah contributed 5.5 per cent to the nation's GDP last year, and together with Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Sarawak and Penang, collectively contributed 73 per cent of the national economy. 'Just last year, we received RM11.34 billion in investments, the seventh highest in Malaysia, with 13.3 per cent garnered from the manufacturing sector," he said at the Eighth World Engineering, Science and Technology Congress (ESTCON) at the Sabah International Convention Centre here today. Organised by Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) and PETRONAS, Sabah is hosting ESTCON for the first time, and it has over 1,000 participants from twenty-five countries. Hajiji said Sabah must have quality tertiary education institutions to provide ex cellent science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-related qualifications for Sabah students as the state government has set a target of at least 40 per cent of its school students enrolled in the science stream by next year. "It is important that a substantial part of the student population in Sabah is in STEM education. "The state Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry has put in place the 2022-2025 Strategic Plan as a guide to implement various programmes and initiatives to empower the science, technology, innovation and economy ecosystem in Sabah," he added. On digitalisation initiatives, Sabah is pushing to accelerate digital transformation initiatives in the state. "In November of last year, we signed an agreement with Huawei Technologies Malaysia at the Huawei headquarters in Shenzhen, China, aimed at reaping the benefits of technological innovation, fostering economic growth and improving public services,' he said, adding that the collaborative effort would include the implementat ion of digital services that are AI-ready and data-centric. Hajiji said under the Sabah Maju Jaya initiative, the Sabah government rolled out the Digital Internet of Things Sandbox in 2022 as part of the development roadmap, providing a conducive environment for digital entrepreneurs and innovators to create their products and test their feasibility. 'We see the transformative power of digital technology in sectors like agriculture, mining and tourism," he said, adding that, Sabah is also investing heavily in the energy sector. While oil and gas will provide an important revenue stream for the state, the focus will be on renewables such as solar and storage technologies, hydro, geothermal, and carbon market opportunities in Sabah," he said. The chief minister assured that Sabah would continue to develop essential energy infrastructure and manage resources to sustain growth. "The Sabah Energy Roadmap and Master Plan 2040, which I launched last year, will strategically guide our future. But its success will require the full support of both public and private stakeholders to steer Sabah towards a greener, more sustainable future," he said. Source: BERNAMA News Agency