THE State Government acknowledges all suggestions to refine the data on extreme poverty in Sabah, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
He said his officers had gone to the ground to collect the necessary data.
“However, I welcome any suggestions for improvements as this data might still be insufficient as there may be those who were not accounted for,” he said during the question and answer session at the State Legislative Assembly sitting.
He was responding to a supplementary question by Senallang Assemblyman Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.
SPONSORED CONTENT Shell awards Sabah LiveWIRE winners Kota Kinabalu: Shell has awarded five enterprises as the state winners of Shell LiveWIRE Malaysia 2024, following the Sabah state finals held at Plaza Shell in Kota Kinabalu. . Read more Shafie wanted to know how Sabah’s extreme poverty was measured and stressed that the factors used to measure it in the State were different from those in other states in the country.
He also said the data collected by the State Government might have been incorrect.
Earlier, responding to Shafie’s original question, Hajiji said he had instructed the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) Secretariat and the Sabah State Development Office (PPN Sabah) to establish a special task force to expedite the agenda to eradicate extreme poverty in the State.
“The main objective of this special task force is to implement the verification and profiling of extreme poverty on the ground to identify the current status of Heads of Households (KIRs) based on the locked figure (LF) of extreme poverty.
“Subsequently, appropriate intervention and matching assistance will be provided for KIRs who are still classified as extremely poor.
“This special task force also collaborates with the Community Development Leader Unit (UPPM) and District Offices to assist with fieldwork.”
He said the task force is essentially responsible for re-evaluating the current status of KIRs to coordinate data in the eKasih system.
Meanwhile, the programme’s secretariat will assist the identified KIRs based on their needs and requirements.
“The SMJ Secretariat, as the secretariat for the Eradicating Extreme Poverty Programme in Sabah, will act to coordinate data on Heads of Households classified as extremely poor who have received assistance and match them with appropriate aid,” he said.
Hajiji said the State Government has developed 13 indicators to verify extreme poverty status.
“These indicators also aim to prioritise the type of assistance that needs to be provided in a targeted and precise manner.”
He said as of Sept 13, 2023, 22,510 KIRs and 94,315 Household Members (AIRs) were the locked figures in the eKasih system for the Extreme Poverty Eradication Programme in Sabah.
“As of June 30 this year, the number has changed to 5,379 Heads of Households classified as extremely poor, a decrease of up to 76.1 per cent,” he said.
Since the commencement of the SMJ Secretariat’s fieldwork and other state assistance agencies, 45,998 interventions and aids have been provided to extremely poor households to improve their economic status.
He said intervention assistance from the Federal Government has also significantly reduced the number of extremely poor households in Sabah.
For example, he said 18,494 KIRs in the eKasih list were recipients of the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) for this year.
“In reality, various factors need to be considered when creating job opportunities for the extremely poor, such as productivity and education levels.
“Analysis shows that 9,356 KIRs, or 42 per cent, do not have any academic qualifications, 4,601 KIRs, or 20 per cent, only have up to UPSR education.
“Meanwhile, 3,690 KIRs, or 16 per cent, only completed PMR, 4,725 KIRs, or 21 per cent, have up to SPM education, and only 1 per cent, or 269 KIRs, have up to STPM and Skills Certificates.”
He said based on these statistics, it is evident that the extremely poor face difficulties competing in the job market due to the lack of educational qualifications.
According to the latest figure of 5,379 KIRs, 1,919, or 35 per cent, do not have educational certificates, which limits their job opportunities.
Regarding the eight poorest districts in Malaysia — as stated by the Federal Economy Minister in the Dewan Rakyat — Hajiji said the number of extremely poor KIRs in these districts had reduced as of June 30.
These districts are Tongod (649 hardcore poor KIRs down to 205), Beluran (1,101 down to 334), Pitas (1,642 down to 443), Kinabatangan (483 down to 168), Kota Marudu (1,391 down to 253), Tuaran (1,054 down to 282), Ranau (1,205 down to 239) and Lahad Datu (526 down to 259).
Hajiji said the State Government is committed to resolving the issue of extreme poverty in Sabah and will extend the time frame, if necessary.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim previously aspired to eradicate extreme poverty in Sabah by this month.
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