Tuaran: The eight poorest districts recently listed in Sabah, which included Tuaran, are based on figures from three years ago.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said latest data showed the number of hardcore poor households in the districts concerned had decreased significantly.
He said for Tuaran alone, data last month showed a little more than 600 hardcore poor household heads compared to about 1,000 three years ago.
He said it was due to government’s efforts during his three years of leading the State.
SPONSORED CONTENT Sabah revenue hits RM6.97 billion: Hajiji says GRS State Government may see full term Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Government continued its momentum in managing the economy in line with the commitment and spirit of the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) when it posted record high state revenue of RM6.973 billion last year. Read more “The opposition is using the issue of Tuaran being among the poorest districts in Sabah, but I want to clarify that this measurement was three years ago.”
“The Government takes the issue of hardcore poverty seriously and are doing our level best to help the group through various means, not only in terms of housing but also helping them start small businesses to reduce the statistics,” he said during a breaking of fast at An-Nur Mosque, here.
Minister of Economy Rafizi Ramli listed the eight poorest districts as Tongod, Beluran, Pitas, Kinabatangan, Kota Marudu, Tuaran, Ranau and Lahad Datu.
Hajiji said the total number of hardcore poor household heads in Sabah as of March 24 was 13,172, down from 22,510 three years ago.
“This means the government is doing its utmost to help the people. This is our priority. We prioritise the needs of the impoverished when planning big development projects.
“We have the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) Secretariat, which is in charge of dealing with poverty in Sabah. Among these is the development of Rumah Mesra SMJ, through which we offered 1,500 houses every year to individuals listed in e-Kasih for the past two years.
“Each State Constituency is allocated 20 houses, so now there are 3,000 houses given to the hardcore poor who are on the e-Kasih list,” he said.
He said this was among the government’s efforts, but the opposition is only bent on undermining the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) - Pakatan Harapan Plus Government’s efforts.
Hajiji said a few opposition figures from Sabah had previously worked with them in the government but were only there for positions.
“I don’t want to blame or disgrace our friends in the opposition unless there is a reason that I would rather not talk about right now.
“They asked for the Minister of Finance post, among other positions. They wanted to be the head of every major government agency. They had four ministers and six assistant ministers, but my party had just three ministers and three assistant ministers,” he said.
He did not name the party in question, only stating that what he had said was factual to ensure that the people weren’t influenced by their (opposition) dakyah.
Hajiji also noted that the opposition had begun to plan a strategy for the State Election centred on attacks directed at him and the government.
“The opposition is preparing for the State Election, despite the fact that it is almost two years away. Perhaps they believe the Chief Minister intends to dissolve the State Assembly. That’s why we see that they don’t seem to care that it’s the fasting month, they continue attacking the government,” he said.
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