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TUARAN – The government wants to eradicate hardcore poverty, involving 195,664 families in the country, by the end of 2025 through the Keluarga Malaysia Hardcore Poverty Eradication Programme (BMTKM).
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said through the programme, hardcore-poor families would be given assistance to improve their lives and their family development would be monitored, especially their children’s education.
He said of the total 195,664 hardcore-poor families in the country, the highest number was recorded in Sarawak with 58,611 families, followed by Sabah (31,598 families), Kelantan (28,553 families) and Kedah (15,964 families).
“Generally, the hardcore poor are those getting small income, just enough for them to survive, and we want to eliminate hardcore poverty by the end of 2025, which means at the beginning of 2026 we want to declare that there are no more hardcore poor families in Malaysia.
“We want the (BMTKM) aid to be effective so that they can get out of hardcore poverty. This programme is not only gauged in terms of income, we also want a change of mindset such as making sure their children go to school,” he told a press conference here today.
Earlier, Mustapa held a meeting with Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and then went to visit Kg Penimbawan here, which is among 10 localities selected for the implementation of Phase 1 of the programme in the state.
Other localities are Kg Penangah in Tongod, Kg Bongkol (Pitas), Kg Sembirai (Kota Belud), Kg Tandek (Kota Marudu), Kg Pelakat (Sipitang), Kg Binsulok (Beaufort), Kg Tetabuan (Beluran), Kg Kaingaran (Ranau) and Kg Lima (Nabawan).
According to Mustapa, 80 localities in the country, each with 50 families, have been identified for implementation of Phase 1 of the programme.
He said implementation of Phase 1 involved 10 localities in Sabah, 10 in Sarawak and the remaining localities are in the peninsula.
“This year, two more phases are implemented, so there are three phases, involving a total of 240 localities,” he said.
On the mechanism to be implemented to bring the affected families out of hardcore poverty, Mustapa said the programme was implemented in collaboration with the state government, district offices and agencies.
“Every locality has certain needs and strategies. Like Kg Penimbawan, it is a fishing village, so we provide assistance such as fishing equipment and we will also help them to carry out other activities, like livestock farming, which will be identified by the agencies involved,” he added. – Bernama, April 30, 2022