Sabah Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal today said that the state government will continue to provide an annual allocation to non-Muslim religious bodies, missionary schools and Chinese private schools in Sabah.

Shafie, who is also Sabah finance minister, said the objective of such allocation was to ease the financial burden of the institutions involved.

“... it is given only as subsidies and not to fully cover their expenses,” he said in reply to JonistonBangkuai (PBS-Kiulu) at the State Legislative Assembly sitting in Kota Kinabalu today.

Shafie also pointed out that the government, at present, did not have any plan to raise the amount of allocation for the purpose but was willing to consider it in the future, subject to the state's financial situation.

In another development, Sabah Trade and Industry Minister Wilfred Madius Tangau explained that there were 25 companies currently operating in Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) in Lahad Datu.

Replying to Calvin Chong Ket Kiun (DAP-Elopura), Madius said two of the companies were involved in palm oil refinery, fertiliser factories (seven), biodiesel (two), processing of spent bleaching earth (two), processing of palm kernel shell (two) and industrial support (10).

With regard to POIC in Sandakan, Madius said the Phase 1 Sandakan POIC construction project was implemented on a 408.7-hectare site, 242 hectares of which were ready to be used.

Another 20.2 hectares were booked by an energy company, while 12 other hectares will be used by the management of the POIC, he added.

-- Bernama