PAPAR: Poverty eradication through entrepreneurship and education is one of United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation's (UPKO) mission, said its president Datuk Ewon Benedick.
Ewon said during Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's recent visit to the state, poverty issues was one of the agendas that the latter discussed with the state government.
Ewon, as the entrepreneur development and cooperatives minister, said he briefed Chief Minister Datuk Hajiji Noor in the meeting on the proposed Ehsan@KUSKOP programme by his ministry to eradicate hardcore poverty in Sabah.
He said education and entrepreneurship were among five interventional measures that had been identified by the state government to resolve hardcore poverty.
"In the past, this ministry did not take poverty eradication as its core services. However, when I assumed the role of minister, I made it a priority to emphasise my strong desire to harness the power of entrepreneurship and education in our fight against poverty," he said after visiting Marcel Gabud, an UPKO stalwart at his home in Kampung Mook here yesterday.
Ewon added that entrepreneurship, cooperative activities and education must go hand-in-hand to address poverty.
On job opportunities, he said after becoming the entrepreneur development and cooperatives minister, he had stated his wish to improve the weekly traditional markets (Tamu) and micro-business establishments in rural areas of the state.
"I offer my leadership to become part of the solution to such programmes and it is with that in mind when I brought the 2023 National Level Hawkers and Small Traders Day Carnival (HPPK2023) to Penampang, which Anwar came to officiate in," he said.
He said the prime minister had approved a RM20 million allocation to upgrade and build new stalls for the Tamu Desa project.
During the visit to Gabud's house, Ewon received 58 membership applications to join UPKO from the Kinarut area.
Accompanying him were UPKO founder Tan Sri Bernard Dompok and Papar UPKO division chief Datuk Gibert Sham, as well as other party stalwarts and members.