East Malaysia seeking to benefit from Indonesia’s capital city move to Kalimantan

KOTA KINABALU — Sabah and Sarawak are looking at ways to capitalize on Indonesia’s capital city move to Kalimantan in a bid to boost socio-economy for the two states.

Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said both states had a lot of similarities in terms of its natural resources and industries.

“So we want to look at cooperation frameworks that can help not only Sabah and Sarawak, but also Malaysia as a whole, with this capital city move,” he said Monday (Oct 14).

He said this after discussions with Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg who paid a courtesy call on Shafie.

Abang Johari said Sabah and Sarawak have several distinct strengths of their own including tourism, oil and gas, which could transform both states’ social economic standard

“If we merge our common strengths, we can also help transform Malaysia into a more peaceful, harmonious and developed nation,” he said.

“We are bound to achieve success with close relations and cooperation between one another,” he added.