KOTA KINABALU, April 5 — All parties, especially the opposition in the state, should not politicise the issue of hardcore poor but instead join hands with the state government to carry out various programmes to eradicate poverty in the state.
Parti Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) Women chief Datuk Seri Azizah Mohd Dun said she was disappointed with the action of the opposition to criticise efforts by the state government to eradicate poverty and thus eleviate the status of hardcore poor.
The former deputy minister of Women, Family and Community Development said the state government under the leadership of Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor was in the process of updating data on household income per capita (KIR), hardcore poor, to eradicate poverty.
“The issue (hardcore poor) is being used to confuse the people. But in reality, the opposition do not know anything. The state government under the leadership of Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor are not making a lot of noise about initiatives carried out but are rather working in silence to eradicate poverty.
“The efforts of the GRS and Pakatan Harapan Plus led state government will not rest until the issue of hardcore poor and poverty is wiped out in Sabahi Sabah,” she said in a statement today.
Azizah said based on data from the Sabah State Development office, the number of hardcore poor in Sabah is 13,179 as of last month (February), which is a significant drop from 22,510 KIR registered last year.
She added that the initiatives taken by the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) secretariat include providing 1,500 houses every year to assist Sabahans who cannot afford while capital for business is also offered to those who are eligible and job opportunities are also made available for Sabahans. — Bernama
