Kota Kinabalu: Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister, Datuk Abidin Madingkir, told Calvin Chong (Warisan-Elopura) he should resign if unable to help his electorate financially.
He said it is common for people to request financial assistance from elected representatives.
“Even I get asked for money. In Paginatan, although we have initiatives such as SMJ (housing) and Syukur (Program Sentuhan Kasih Rakyat), people still come to me (to ask for money).
“That is our responsibility as elected representatives, so don’t complain. If you want to complain, you might as well resign,” he said.
Calvin had questioned the State Government’s efforts in tackling poverty in Sandakan.
Chong said many people in his constituency had approached him for financial aid, and it become difficult to meet the demand with his limited resources.
He also raised concerns about the transparency of government aid programmes, including the eKasih. “Is this aid truly meant for the poor, or is it only for GRS party supporters?” Chong asked.
Abidin had earlier responded to questions relating to the Syukur programme and poverty eradication issues.
The questions were raised by several Assembly members, including Chong, Jannie Lasimbang (DAP–Kapayan), Datuk Abdul Ghani Mohamed Yassin (Gagasan–Nabawan), Assaffal Alian (Warisan–Tungku), Datuk Jonnybone Kurum (PBS–Telupid), and Alias Sani (Warisan–Sekong).
The Syukur programme provides RM300 in monthly financial aid for a year to 100,000 recipients categorised as poor or hardcore poor across Sabah, with an allocation of RM358.4 million for the initiative.
The aid is disbursed in four quarterly phases: January-March (Phase One), April-June (Phase Two), July-September (Phase Three) and October-December (Phase Four). Each phase is paid out as a lump sum of RM900 every three months.
“To ensure those who were excluded or not listed in the eKasih system are not left out, the State Government has developed the Sabah State Data System (Padans), which allows eligible individuals to apply for assistance online.
“In addition, the SMJ Secretariat is working closely with grassroots leaders, including the Community Development Leader Unit (UPPM) and District Offices, to identify eligible heads of households (KIR) in each district who may have been missed,” said Abidin.
As of March 31 this year, the SMJ Secretariat received 270,272 applications via Padans, compiled through community outreach, UPPM data and collaboration with non-government assembly members for further verification.
Abidin added that 85 MySMJ Profiler Officers have been appointed and deployed to all district offices in Sabah to coordinate the Syukur application and verification process for those who are eligible but previously excluded.
On hardcore poverty statistics, Abidin said the number of hardcore poor households recorded in the eKasih system stood at 1,464 as of Feb 28, 2025.
“As compared to 14,553 on Feb 29 2024, this represents a decrease of 89.9 per cent.
“The State Government expects that with the Syukur disbursements that began in Feb 17, 2025, the number of individuals classified as poor and hardcore poor in the eKasih system will continue to decline.
“The State Government remains fully committed to ensuring that those who have improved their status do not fall back below the Poverty Line Income (PLI), which is based on the Food PLI threshold of RM1,218 per household — averaging 4.3 members per household, or RM288 per capita,” he added.
