Sabah achieves impressive feat in poverty reduction

SANDAKAN: Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman said Sabah has accomplished an impressive achievement in reducing poverty.

“We have outlined poverty eradication as one of the objectives and the focus. I have chaired the State Poverty Eradication Committee, to monitor and ensure that all related projects and programs are fully implemented and beneficial to the target groups.

“The Household Income Survey Report released by the Department of Statistics, Malaysia, shows that the incidence of poverty in Sabah has decreased from 19.2 per cent in 2009 to 7.8 per cent in 2012, then decreased to 3.9 per cent in 2014. This figure continues to show a significant reduction to 2.9 percent in 2016.

“I often remind that it is useless to announce all types of projects and poverty eradication programs, if they are not well implemented. In the end, the people are disappointed and say this is an empty promise,” he said.

In fact, every year the State Government has allocated millions of ringgit to continue the implementation of the Prosperous Mini Estate or MESEJ, PPRT Farms, Local Economic Improvement Programs (PPES), Program Kampung Sejahtera (PKS) and Small Development Projects (PPKs) to generate income of the poor people in rural areas.

Speaking at the Congress of Unions of Employees in Public and Civil Service (Cuepacs) gathering ceremony held at Sri Libaran Hall here yesterday, he said that apart from poverty eradication, development of human capital is also important.

“Human capital development is very important to support the success of Sabah’s direction. Investment in education, training, skills, entrepreneurship and lifelong learning is essential to enable Sabah to produce a skilled, creative and innovative workforce,” said Musa.

“This human capital is what we need to enable our State to move forward and become competitive thus able to assist in poverty eradication.

“In this context, the State Government has always encouraged the establishment of public and private institutions of higher learning, including Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Universiti Teknologi Mara Malaysia, Kolej Universiti Yayasan Sabah, Tunku Abdul Rahman University College and others.

“In addition, the State Government has also set up the Sabah Education Hub in Sandakan to provide higher education and skills facilities for all walks of life,” he said.

Meanwhile, every year, the State Government allocates about RM40 million in the form of scholarships, benefiting approximately 700 students. Yayasan Sabah has also provided a loan of RM210 million to about 10,000 students since it was established.

In addition, Yayasan Sabah also provides an annual scholarship, which provides an opportunity for 500 students to further their studies.

The awarding of scholarships to students from all walks of life clearly demonstrates the government commitment to provide education to all people regardless of race and religion, Musa added.