In order to enhance the current state of Sabah's development, sustainable programs such as those relating to education, are vital in boosting the state's developmental growth.

"A good education system will enable individual and even family to mobilise their income, thus becoming a contributing factor to the betterment of Sabah" said State Development Officer Datuk Ruji Ubi.

Ruji said that based on the 2017 Budget tabled by our Prime Minister, one of the areas that the government will be focusing on are the recovery and renovation work for our schools.

He said that across Sabah, 30 secondary and primary schools will be enjoying this benefit.

The cost for each school is approximately one million ringgit and the renovation works will be completed in a much shorter time, Ruji told the media after giving a talk on the Current Sabah Development Scenario and Towards Integrated Development Initiative topic at INTAN Campus, Sepanggar on Friday, March 25.

In further commenting on the developmental context of Sabah, Ruji said all the other departments must work as a team if they want to see Sabah reach greater heights.

Ruji also commented on the importance of Communication and Coordination (CNC) concept. He said that every project in Sabah has to apply this CNC concept. This is to ensure that every project in the state will be completed in due time and it has to be for the betterment of the rakyat.

Meanwhile, Ruji said that although Sabah may be rich in resources, the distribution of wealth is a huge issue and for that reason, the state is still among those with the highest hardcore poor rate.

"The rakyat should not misuse the benefits given through eKasih. It is the hardcore poor who are in desperate need for it and thus it is not something that one should take advantage of" he said.

He said that although Sabah has the ability to generate promising revenue, the problem again lies in the distribution of wealth.

He urged the various departments that are responsible for distributing the eKasih funds to be extra careful in granting these benefits.

He said that those applicants who simply apply for eKasih without even being eligible for it should be rejected accordingly.

"My department will try to prevent unwanted cases like this by a margin of 30%" added Ruji.