BY NUR ATIQAH QURATULAINI
THE Sarawak economy is expected to remain resilient and achieve a growth rate of between 5 per cent and 6 per cent in anticipation of improved external demand and increased domestic activities in 2024.
Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said this trend has been observed in the first two months of 2024 where Sarawak also witnessed a 7.4 per cent increase in the import of capital goods.
“Continuous efforts made by the Sarawak government to diversity Sarawak’s economy are expected to encourage more private investment in 2024.
“A total of RM132 million worth of investment in the manufacturing sector was approved while a potential RM2.3 billion worth of investment is still under consideration,” he said.
Uggah, who is also the Second Minister for Finance and New Economy said the Sarawak government has approved allocations of RM9 billion and RM5.5 billion under the Development Budget and Alternative Funding.
“Both allocations will accelerate the 12 Malaysia Plan (12MP) projects implementation which are expected to further increase development momentum in Sarawak,
“A total RM5.8 billion approved by the federal government for development purposes will further augment Sarawak’s development and economic growth in 2024,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said in the first two months of this year, there was a notable increase in total trade for Sarawak, expanding by 11.6 per cent compared with the corresponding period of 2023.
“We anticipate this trend will continue in 2024 with improvement in global trade,” he said, citing that the growth in 2023 on the demand side was driven largely by domestic demand.
“The continuing initiatives from both the Sarawak and federal governments, namely the monthly electricity bill discount initiatives under the Sarawakku Sayang Special Aid programme and financial assistance under Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR), have provided a cushion to the community, especially in mitigating the effects of rising prices on household purchasing power,” he added.
