Outline strategy to address poverty issue — Kiandee
KOTA KINABALU: The issue of poverty in Sabah demands the responsibility of all parties, especially the government, to devise the best strategy in getting the community out of the poverty trap.
Beluran Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Dr Roland Kiandee said this in a press release on Saturday, following a statistic highlighted by Minister of Economy, Rafizi Ramli that hardcore poverty rate in Sabah is 1.2 per cent, in stark contrast to the 0.2 per cent national rate.
According to Rafizi, the Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2022 report showed that the rate of hardcore poverty in eight Sabah districts was higher than the national rate, with Tongod being the highest at 5.9 per cent, followed by Beluran (5 per cent), Pitas (4.8 per cent), Kinabatangan (4.6 per cent), Kota Marudu (4 per cent), Tuaran (2.6 per cent), as well as Ranau and Lahad Datu at 2.4 per cent each.
“It is recognised that Sabah is far behind compared to other states, especially in terms of economic progress and infrastructure development.
“The poverty rate in Sabah is six times higher than the national rate of 0.2 per cent.
“Because of that, the issue of poverty and the significant development gap between the peninsula and Sabah continues to be fought in the Dewan Rakyat by Sabahan MPs,” said Kiandee, who is also the Vice President of Parti Bersatu.
However, Kiandee also said that the poverty rate announced by the government had actually decreased significantly.
According to him, the study of the Half Term of the 11th Malaysia Plan (RMK11) recorded the incidence of poverty in Beluran at 12.1 per cent, but it has now dropped to five per cent, while Tongod, which is the poorest district, also recorded a significant decrease from 19.7 per cent to 5.9 per cent.
“To the government, I want to emphasise that in this issue of poverty, politics must be blind.
“Don’t practice revenge politics by discriminating against certain areas just because of political differences,” he said.
Kiandee also suggested that the efforts of the previous government should be continued and improved through new ideas with a focus on rural areas.
He said socio-economic justice must be implemented with the development of infrastructure in the eight districts in Sabah that recorded high incidences of poverty must be accelerated.
“Stop pointing fingers,” he added.
According to Kiandee, the Federal and State Governments need to focus all efforts together, while the rapid economic growth in the state of Sabah as often proclaimed by the state government needs to be benefited by the people in the interior.