TAPAH: Kampung Kinjang, Chenderiang here has been chosen as the pioneer project location for the Desa Harapan (Village of Hope) Programme which aims to develop villages and improve the standard of living of rural communities.
Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun said the program was an effort by the ministry to boost development in rural areas through strategic collaborations between the government and private sector.
She said through this programme, the private sector which had so far conducted corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects on their own, especially in villages, could now work with the ministry to help the local people increase their income.
“If areas around the villages could be sources of continuous income, the villagers, especially youths, would not need to migrate to urban areas in search of jobs. This would help the locals develop their own villages,” she said.
Rina was speaking to reporters after the launching ceremony of the programme which was also attended by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu and ministry secretary-general Datuk Dr Ahmad Jailani Muhamed Yunus.
Rina who is also MP for Titiwangsa said there were currently 25 private companies which were prepared to be the ministry’s strategic partners in the programme and hoped more would join in.
These include Berjaya Corporation Berhad, Celcom Axiata, Hume Cemboard Industries dan Universiti Kuala Lumpur.
Rina said the programme had been drawn up to meet the needs of the villagers according to the speciality of the companies.
She said Kampung Kinjang was selected for as a pioneer project out of 17,000 villages in the country as it had the potential for socio-economic development with its close location to the Lata Kinjang waterfalls, the highest in Southeast Asia.
Rina said for a start, the Desa Harapan programme was targetting one village for each state for two years from 2019 until 2020, and will be increased based on the success and commitment of the private companies involved. - Bernama