Where Sabah Is Heading: Government Plans and Targets, 2026–2040

What changed in September 2026

A short monthly log of decisions that affect Sabah households and the plans on this page. Each line links to the source.

• 1 September: the monthly Budi Madani fuel quota went back up from 200 to 300 litres for both subsidised RON95 and diesel; private diesel pick-ups and jeeps can get up to 400 litres (Malay Mail, 1 Sep). See the Budi Diesel checker.
• 11 September: the federal Cabinet agreed in principle to raise Sabah's and Sarawak's share of seats in Parliament. No number has been set, it needs a constitutional amendment first, and the Prime Minister said it may not be in place before the next general election (Bernama, 11 Sep 2026).
• 17 September: owners of diesel vehicles can now transfer their subsidy eligibility to the person who actually uses the vehicle, not only to family; conditions apply, including one transfer per vehicle (Malay Mail, 17 Sep).
• 29 September: the Court of Appeal hearing on Sabah's 40% special grant, scheduled for 29 October in Kota Kinabalu, will have up to 250 members of the public following it on a live feed at the court complex (Malay Mail, 29 Sep). See Sabah's 40% case explained.
• 29 October: the Court of Appeal heard the federal appeal on Sabah's 40% special grant and reserved its decision; 12 November is fixed for case management to set the decision date (Bernama; see Sabah's 40% case explained).

Which plans decide Sabah's future?

No single document covers Sabah's future. Four plans set most of the targets, and they run on different clocks. This page puts them on one timeline, with the latest status for each target where we could find one.

What happens when? The timeline

1. 2026
   • RMK13 begins. A Multi-Tier Levy on foreign workers starts this year.
   • SESB raised the electricity tariff on 1 February 2026, the first rise since 2014.
   • The EU's carbon border tax (CBAM) entered its definitive period on 1 January 2026. SE-RAMP warns Sabah exporters of aluminium, fertiliser, cement, iron and steel to the EU that they will need low-carbon power.
   • The power reserve margin is expected to reach 26% by end 2026, up from 8% in 2024 (state government, September 2026).
2. 2027–2028
   • SE-RAMP planned the second 275 kV power line to Tawau (the Southern Link) by 2027. Status, May 2026: now the Sabah Southern Madani Link; Phase 1A (Mengalong to Upper Padas, 60 km) was 17% built and is due September 2028. Phase 1B to Tawau has no date yet.
3. 2029
   • SE-RAMP planned the 180 MW Upper Padas hydro dam for 2029. Status, May 2026: re-approved as 187.5 MW by end 2030, plus 150 MWac of floating solar by end 2031.
4. 2030
   • Sabah GDP RM120.1 billion (5.8% a year from RM84.3 billion in 2024); Sabah region median household income RM5,780 (RMK13).
   • Blackouts below 100 minutes a year (226 minutes as of July 2026) and 100% rural electrification (96% in June 2025, on a possibly different basis; see rural electrification).
   • Renewables 40% of Sabah's power capacity, from 15% in 2024 (RMK13); a "sustainable" tariff with less subsidy (SE-RAMP).
   • Remaining Pan Borneo packages, the Sarawak-Sabah Link Road and the Trans Borneo Highway completed (RMK13). Foreign workers capped at 10% of the national workforce.
   • National goals with a Sabah angle: manufacturing in less developed states from 22% to 30–35% of state GDP (NIMP 2030); Malaysia's rice self-sufficiency 80%, food fish 98%, beef 50% (DAN 2.0).
5. 2035
   • Gas down from 86% (2021) to about 55% of Sabah's power mix; renewables above 50% of capacity and 30% of energy; fuel mix balanced (SE-RAMP). No later official percentage found; Sabah reported 307 MW of renewables in July 2026.
   • Foreign workers capped at 5% of the national workforce (RMK13).
6. 2040–2050
   • Low-carbon nation by 2040 and carbon neutrality by 2050: national aims that SE-RAMP adopts for Sabah. SE-RAMP planned a carbon inventory for 2024; no later update found.

Will Sabah's economy and incomes catch up?

The plan is for Sabah to grow faster than anywhere else: 5.8% a year in 2026–2030, against 3.1% a year in 2021–2025. Services are targeted to grow 7.1% a year, manufacturing 5.9% and mining (oil and gas) 5.4%.

Even on target, the gap narrows only slowly. In 2024 the Central Region's GDP per person was 2.4 times Sabah's; the aim is 2.1 times by 2030. DOSM's final 2024 median household income for Sabah was RM4,890, the lowest of any state. See our household income page.

Industry is one lever. The New Industrial Master Plan names Kelantan, Perlis and Sabah as the states contributing least to Malaysia's manufacturing value-added, and says Sabah's oil and gas, timber, minerals and palm oil offer room for downstream manufacturing. Its target for less developed states is to raise manufacturing from 22% of state GDP (2021) to 30–35% by 2030. Sabah's industrial parks are compared on our industrial parks page, with more on KKIP and SOGIP.

Labour rules tighten at the same time. RMK13 caps foreign workers at 10% of the workforce by 2030 and 5% by 2035, which matters for Sabah's plantations and construction.

Will the blackouts end, and will bills rise?

That is the aim of SE-RAMP 2040. It targets average outage time below 100 minutes a year by end 2030 (332.1 minutes in 2021; 226 as of July 2026), a reserve margin of 30–35% by 2030 (8% in 2024), and every village on 24-hour power by 2030.

Bills are the other side. From 2022 to 2024 it cost 43.83 sen to supply each unit of electricity against an average tariff of 34.52 sen, and the plan aims for a "sustainable" tariff by 2030. SESB raised its tariff on 1 February 2026. Our power plan explainer has the full targets table, project status and what the tariff change means for households; renewable energy in Sabah covers hydro, solar and palm waste. For more detail, see why the power cuts happen, the Southern Link and the tariff and subsidy.

Which roads and links are coming?

RMK13 promises to complete the remaining Pan Borneo Highway packages in Sabah by 2030. As at December 2024, only 4 of 35 were finished. It also plans a road from Kalabakan to Simanggaris towards Indonesia, and records RM1 billion approved for Sabah-Sarawak-Kalimantan border areas.

The Trans-Borneo Railway is still only a feasibility study. For ports and airports, see Sepanggar port and the KKIA expansion.

What are the food and farming goals?

RMK13 says a corridor spanning east-coast Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak will be developed as a food production hub. The National Agrofood Policy 2.0 sets national self-sufficiency targets for 2030: rice 80% (63% in 2019), food fish 98% and beef 50%. It does not set separate Sabah targets. See our agriculture and fisheries pages for Sabah's current output.

What about forests and carbon?

SE-RAMP counts Sabah's gazetted forest reserves, 3,574,468 hectares or 48.6% of the state (2020), as a carbon sink supporting the national aims of a low-carbon nation by 2040 and carbon neutrality by 2050. It also states that Sabah has the lowest carbon footprint of any Malaysian state.

Forests are starting to earn money: in 2024, the first auction of Malaysian carbon credits on Bursa Carbon Exchange sold more than 20,000 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent credits from Sabah's Kuamut Rainforest Conservation Project (RMK13). More on our forests and protected areas pages.

Who decides: Sabah or Putrajaya?

Both, and the balance is shifting. Electricity regulation moved to Sabah: federal energy laws were devolved under Article 95C of the Federal Constitution, and the Energy Commission of Sabah was set up on 10 January 2023. A Sabah Energy Council chaired by the Chief Minister tracks SE-RAMP.

In the other direction, RMK13 says the federal Town and Country Planning Act 1976 (Act 172) will be extended to Sabah and Sarawak for national spatial planning. RMK13 also promises a state-level economic framework for Anak Negeri Sabah and continued Native Customary Rights (NCR) land survey and titles. For the constitutional background, see MA63 and autonomy rights.

Frequently asked questions