Bumiputera development in Sabah received a further boost with over RM600 million allocated by the Bumiputera Agenda Steering Unit (Teraju) and the State Government for various programmes and initiatives.

This was announced by Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman after chairing the first Bumiputera Economic Council Meeting for this year on Tuesday, 27 February.

He said strong collaboration with Federal Government and various ministries has enabled numerous initiatives to continue to be introduced to empower Bumiputera involvement especially in the business sector.

Musa, who is State Finance Minister, also announced two new special funds, namely RM100 million for Sabah Bumiputera entrepreneurs to invest in agriculture and agro-tourism projects, and financing facilities and guarantee worth RM500 million for Bumiputera contractors involved in the Pan Borneo Highway project.

He went on to say that as a State renowned for its rich natural resources, it is his hope that Sabah's agro tourism industry will lead and become a "benchmark" for agro-tourism development in the country.

The initiative is a strategic partnership between Teraju and Agrobank Berhad and is expected to open more business opportunities for Sabah entrepreneurs to venture into the industry identified to have great potential and going through rapid development.

While the special funds for the construction of the Pan Borneo Highway is expected to help 50 Bumiputera-owned contractor companies from Class G1 to G4.

The funds for this is provided by RHB Islamic Bank Berhad and Small Medium Enterprise Development Bank Malaysia Berhad (SME Bank) for contract financing, while the special loan guarantee facility is provided by the Credit Guarantee Corporation (CGC) and the Business Financing Guarantee Company (SJPP).

"The Federal and State Government are sensitive to the many challenges faced by Bumiputera-owned construction companies, which is mainly in terms of obtaining financing facilities from financial institutions," said Musa.

He said because of that, the facility can increase the company's bankability in obtaining financial facilities from financial institutions that has been identified.