KOTA KINABALU: Hardcore poverty in Sabah has yet to be eradicated.
Last year, during a meeting with state and federal civil servants in February, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had set a deadline to tackle the issue by the end of 2023.
Anwar had said that there were about 130,000 people categorised as hardcore poor, with the majority coming from Sabah.
According to the Statistics Department's Poverty Index 2022 report, the eight poorest districts in Sabah are Tongod, Pitas, Telupid, Beluran, Kota Marudu, Kota Belud, and Nabawan.
Without stating the latest poverty rate in the state, Sabah Rural Development Minister Datuk Jahid Jahim said the state ministry is doing its best to address the matter.
"We will engage with certain elected representatives and discuss with the district administration.
"We will also find ways to reduce such incidences. For now, we have yet to think of any additional programmes, but we will run the existing events more actively and smoothly," Jahid told the media after outlining the ministry's direction at its headquarters here.
During the last state legislative assembly session, Assistant State Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ruddy Awah said there are 18,853 hardcore poor people in the state as of Oct 31, 2023.
Ruddy had said the main challenges in achieving the government's target to eradicate hardcore poverty by the year-end includes individuals who are unwilling to participate in recommended programmes and lack specific skills for self-improvement.
In March last year, Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had also mentioned that Pitas, Kota Marudu, and Tongod would be given focus in poverty eradication through rural projects, infrastructure and other amenities.
On the the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) Rumah Mesra housing programme, Jahid said the ministry has disbursed all of the allocated quotas, which is 1,500 units, to all implementing offices.
As of Dec 31, 2023, a total of 1,023 units have been completed.