Kota Kinabalu: Kuamut Assemblyman, Datuk Masiung Banah demands a more detailed explanation from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (JPM) regarding the poverty index which classified eight districts in Sabah as the poorest in Malaysia.
He questioned whether the districts ranked as the poorest were evaluated in terms of eKasih population statistics or the development index in the said districts.
“I am confused by the study and as a representative of the people, I realise the average poverty rate of households in Tongod district is quite isolated.
“The poverty rate in the eight poorest districts in Sabah should be measured using a correct method to ensure an accurate and detailed study,” he said.
He said the poverty rate in Tongod is much smaller with 2,596 compared to more than 5,000 in Semporna listed in the eKasih data, yet the East Coast district is not listed as among the poorest.
However, he admitted that if the JPM evaluation was based on the public development index, then the progress in Tongod is still in the stages of implementation.
Tongod is located under the Kuamut state seat and Kinabatangan parliamentary and is the largest district in Sabah, larger than the state of Kedah.
He explained that Tongod has an area of 10,051 square kilometers, which “of course takes time for the government to create more basic developments”. Besides Tongod, seven other districts categorised as the poorest in Sabah are Pitas, Telupid, Beluran, Kota Merudu, Kota Belud and Nabawan.
“There are more than 43,000 residents in Tongod of which eKasih data shows only 2,596 are classified as poor and hardcore poor.
“But now the number in eKasih has decreased where 674 households have already come out of the poverty line in the first six months of this year and at the same time Tongod has dropped to rank 15 (poorest) in the whole of Sabah,” he said.
According to him, the Tongod District Office is now in the process of verifying the residents and it is expected that more than 400 eKasih holders will come out of the poverty line by the end of this year.
Masiung said that a large number of households in Tongod already own land through the targeted distribution of government lots.
According to him, residents have worked on the land that was distributed through the assistance of Malaysia Plam Oil Board (MPOB) and Rubber Industry Smallholders Developmet Authority (Risda) in accordance with the mission of developing Tongod as an agricultural granary.
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