The only way for communities to break out of the poverty cycle is through education.
“You will not be able to have a decent living without education. With poverty, it most of the time restricts one’s access to education. Education is a way out of poverty,” said Datuk Zainie Abdul Aucasa.
Zainie is no stranger to efforts to combat poverty. Having served in the Kota Kinabalu Rotary Club for the last 22 years, he was also its past district governor, and had been involved in various initiatives to tackle rural poverty in the state.
He said even with free education, some households simply could not afford to send their children to school due to o ther costs.
“This is where government facilities may be of help. Accessibility in the form of cheap transport and hostels is paramount in helping the poor children.”
He said hardcore poverty remained a major problem in Sabah, especially among its rural communities despite the many initiatives carried out.
“I have been involved with the Rotary Club in Kota Kinabalu for the last 23 years. Apart from the Rotary Club, I have also, through other organisations, been involved in assisting the needy, particularly those living in rural areas.
“My exposure or involvement is restricted to helping the rural folk, mostly Bumiputeras, in terms of clean water provision, basic education and uplifting their economic activities.
“Poverty has been and will be always around for many years to come. Government after government had tried to combat poverty in the populace.
“Here, in Sabah, the efforts taken by the government have been tremendous over the years.
“When we did the back-to-school programme for rural students in trying to identify who should benefit, we were shocked to discover that there were families earning less than RM500 per month.
“This happens not just in certain parts, but most areas in Sabah. We have, over the last two years, travelled to six or seven districts and have another 16 to go in assisting the students.
“We found that most of these people come from parents who are farmers, fishermen. They live day to day and hardly have anything to save. It’s basically just a matter of survival for them.
“How can they be helped?
“Nobody wants to remain poor. But looking at it, in most cases, whatever hard work these people had put in, come rain or shine, that is the most they will get from their land or from the river.
“So basically, it (the income) is limited by the resources available and by their means in harvesting those resources.”
This, he said, was happening despite all kinds of aid extended to them by the government in terms of finance, facilities and training.
However, Zainie said the situation was not entirely hopeless.
“This is not to say that these programmes are not successful. Some of them (recipients) have managed to escape poverty thanks to these initiatives carried out by the government.
“However, statistics show that many remain below the poverty level. They are still earning RM500 monthly, limited by the scarcity of resources and facilities.
“While many of these government programmes look good on paper, some of them fall short of what is expected. Many are not properly drawn up and have failed in their execution.”
He said this was caused by the fact that some programmes were not well-thought out, beyond the capability of the target group, lacked coordination among the relevant agencies in implementation, or were hastily implemented without care for the circumstances and the needs of the community.
“In some cases, projects and policies were launched in grand fashion but after that, the kampung folk were left to their own devices by those who were supposed to implement the policies.
“If we are to move forward, these policies need to be approached in a holistic manner, including the assessment of challenges, resource availability and continuous support to sustain the projects so that they can achieve their target.”
Zainie expressed hope that the government’s new Shared Prosperity Vision would mark a turning point in terms of tackling poverty.
“It is good as the intention is to have the nation’s prosperity shared among the various beneficiaries, people from both rural areas and towns, different ethnic groups and backgrounds.
“But again, a policy is only good if it’s well implemented, executed and sustained.”
He said if there was a gap in the chain of planning, coordination and execution, no matter how good the policy appeared on paper, it was doomed to fail.
“I hope that, based on lessons from past experiences, the people driving this policy will wholeheartedly sustain and ensure that it ultimately achieves its goals.”
Zainie said NGOs could play a key role to complement the government’s efforts.
“From Rotary International to Rotary Clubs here in Sabah, we have been assisting the government in carrying out projects, including clean water supply, back-to-school programmes, refurbishment of hostels, and uplifting the economic wellbeing of communities.
“These are tangible aims and the efforts are producing results.”
He said it was everyone’s hope, including himself, to see the dream realised and for Malaysia to reach a stage “where no child would go to bed hungry, or go to school without breakfast, and no more families could not afford to send their kids to school”.
“I believe that with concerted effort, these hopes will become reality.”