11,275 houses for hardcore poor built

A total of 11,275 houses under the Housing Project for the Hardcore Poor (PPRT) programme have been built in Sabah from 2010 to 2016, said Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Radin Malleh.

Radin said the PPRT scheme came under the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKLW), while his ministry served as the main coordinator for the construction of the PPRT houses executed by the district offices, sub-district offices, Kota Kinabalu City Hall, Sandakan Municipal Council and Tawau Municipal Council.

“From 2010 to 2016, a total of 11,275 new houses have been built,” he said in his winding up speech at the State Legislative Assembly yesterday.

On Program Kampung Sejahtera (PKS), Radin said 31 villages were involved in it while 30 more villages were planning to join the programme this year.

He said PKS was carried out since 2014 to develop remote villages in the rural areas with the aim of developing human capital, economic progress and enhance standard of living,

In response to Kiulu assemblyman’s proposal to introduce Rural Mini Tourism programme in his district, Radin said the ministry did not plan to do so at the moment.

Nonetheless, he said there were existing tourism products in Kiulu, such as gong and beads at Kampung Sumangkap and Matunggong under the One District One Product programme.

On the other hand, Radin said his ministry would always review and update existing programmes and activities as well as identify new programmes to ensure the programmes implemented would deliver the maximum impact to rural residents.

He said the District Poverty Eradication Focus Group chaired by district officers were also tasked with monitoring the implementation and performance of poverty eradication programmes carried out by state and federal government agencies.