Kota Kinabalu: Kuamut Assemblyman Datuk Masiung Banah said the state government should construct more Rumah Mesra Sabah Maju Jaya (Rumah Mesra SMJ) in the state’s poorest districts.
He said, consideration should be made between the districts that have improved and the ones classified as the poorest.
In a statement Sunday, he commended Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor’s announcement last Friday that he (Hajiji) would disburse a special grant of RM125.6 million from the Federal Government to develop Rumah Mesra SMJ in all the State’s 73 constituencies.
“We hope the Chief Minister will place higher priority on poverty eradication through the development of the Rumah Mesra SMJ, which is a Sabah Maju Jaya initiative.
“This move will give individuals who are still poor the option to acquire affordable housing at cheaper prices,” Banah said.
According to research conducted by the Prime Minister’s Department last year, the three districts with the highest poverty levels in Malaysia are Tongod, Pitas, and Kota Marudu, followed by Beluran and Telupid.
With 19.57 per cent of the population living in poverty, Sabah is the poorest state in the country, compared to 5.6 percent for the entire nation.
Kelantan, after Sabah, is the state with the highest poverty rate, followed by Sarawak, Perlis, and Kedah.
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