Poverty can be overcome, not inheritance — Rahim
TAWAU: Sabah Land Development Board (SLDB) chairman Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Abdul Rahim Ismail said every person has the chance to be successful in life provided they have the willingness to change for a better future.
“Poverty is not an inheritance because people can change their fate as long as they’re willing to work hard and explore all the opportunities provided by the government.
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re born from a family of farmers or fishermen because the opportunity to be successful in any field or profession is always there,” he said when officiating the three-day entrepreneurship course for the second generation of SLDB settlers under the Aktiviti Ekonomi Tambahan (AET) programme here.
Rahim said AET is an empowerment programme to ensure the second generation of SLDB settlers are not left out in human resource development activities.
As a government agency, SLDB is giving special attention to the second generation and the AET initiative was meant to train them in business organization, he said.
Twenty-five participants from nine settlement schemes in Tawau attended the three-day course, which was also assisted by several speakers from government agencies and financial institution.
AET’s main objectives are to create additional income for the settlers, in line with the 11th Malaysia Plan’s main focus areas to uplift the socio-economic wellbeing of the rural community.
SLDB is the advisor and monitoring agent for the AET. The beneficiaries (settlers) are project implementors.
AET’S main focus activities are fish rearing, cash crop and village economy, while the implementation aproach includes training session, information and distribution of funds to the participants.
The programme is financed by the Federal Government through the Rural and Regional Development Ministry, with an allocation of RM10 million for five years.
SLDB general manager Haji Jazuli W. Sunarto and several senior SLDB officers attended the function. Also present was one of the agency’s members of board of directors, Datuk Mohd Kamil DSP Mohd Kassim Kamidin.