PETALING JAYA: The Sabah chief minister’s department has clarified that hardcore poverty has not yet been fully eradicated in the state, despite chief minister Hajiji Noor’s announcement yesterday suggesting otherwise.
In a statement, the department said while much progress had been made in eradicating hardcore poverty, new data from the eKasih database showed that 4,634 households remained classified as hardcore poor.
The department said these households were not part of the initial "locked figure" of 22,510 identified and targeted for intervention earlier this year.
Hajiji said yesterday that the state had eradicated hardcore poverty at the end of last month, thanks to efforts by GLCs and the implementation of the Sabah Maju Jaya development plan.
SPONSORED CONTENT 40pc involves the Constitution: Hajiji Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Government will not bow down from pursuing its 40% revenue entitlement, says Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor. Read more However, his department said today that more cases of extreme or hardcore poverty had been registered recently.
The department said these cases would be addressed in the second phase of the state’s anti-poverty programme and the situation is likely to be resolved by the end of the year.
"The Sabah Maju Jaya secretariat and relevant agencies continue to monitor and intervene where necessary to assist these newly identified households," its statement read.
It said the state was offering assistance by way of housing, education and employment opportunities, as well as monthly cash aid for non-productive households.
On July 23, the Sabah government approved an additional allocation of RM2.85 million to assist 1,147 households in the hardcore poor category as of July 20.
The household income indicator for one to be listed as hardcore poor was reported to be RM1,200 and below.
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