Hardly a day goes by without Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Abang Openg highlighting his schemes to turn the state's economy around and achieve "developed state" status by 2030.
From hydrogen-fuelled public transport to algae-generated sustainable aviation fuel, the theme has consistently been uncovering new sources of revenue for the state and income for Sarawakians.
All these are welcome if well thought through. Abang Johari's palpable enthusiasm has undoubtedly been imbued with noble intentions to uplift the state economy.
The state government has, for example, embarked on building five fully state-funded international schools where bright poor children will be provided with state-funded scholarships to obtain a first-rate education.
The state's private international schools are left wondering if and how their publicly-supported counterparts may end up unfairly competing with them — if not for students, maybe for quality teachers.
Won't helping poor students get into private international schools be a better option all around?
There are other ways the state government can bring about significant change to increase income for people across the board. An obvious case is housing.
With its abundance of land and relatively few people, Sarawak is ironically in the unhappy situation of having urban house prices comparable to those in Penang and Kuala Lumpur!
It is something the state government should look into since land is fully under state control.
What can the state do to bring down land costs, a key factor behind astronomical home prices?
A local housing developer this writer spoke to suggested that the state authorities look into increasing the stock of scarce urban land for housing and creatively find a win-win solution to a perennial bugbear: how best to utilise native customary rights land.
Rules on unit density of housing developments may also be relaxed. This will also bring down house prices.
One of the biggest contributors to high house prices may be the length of time needed for official approval of house-development plans (said to be an inexplicably lengthy two to three years).
Developers have little choice but to price in the holding costs of such long waiting periods.
Decentralising the authority for plan approvals is another option so that the current single approving authority does not become an expensive bottleneck.
Houses are the single largest investment for most households. Reducing their prices goes far in boosting the disposal income of the average family.
The state government needs to also examine in-depth whether the whole state machinery is friendly to investors.
Rather than expressing puzzlement over the stubbornly high poverty in the state and initiating a new study to determine whether available statistics on poverty are accurate, it is better for the state to concentrate on efforts that lead to a more business-friendly environment.
Or whether needless rules and regulations coupled with bureaucratic inertia stifle entrepreneurialism and business investing.
The state's intention to set up a bank dedicated to helping small and medium enterprises is well and good, but it may be negated if the overall regulatory environment discourages private enterprises.
A consultant for a small-scale foreign investor related recently to this writer the tale of woes his client faced from state officials. It was only through determined persistence over some years that success was finally attained.
The current state approach to business investment is heavily skewed towards big-time investors.
But it is the small and medium enterprises that provide the bulk of business and job opportunities to uplift living standards.
All blind spots in extending the welcome mat to such enterprises must be identified and quickly rectified.
A proactive and business-friendly government will seek ways to reduce the overall costs of doing business in the state.
The business of government is not business per se, but ensuring a conducive environment for businesses to thrive.
The writer views developments in the nation, region and wider world from his vantage point in Kuching
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times