Rina (centre) and Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (fifth from right at the launch of the Rural Development Plan of Hope.
THROUGH its leading role in integrated development programmes for rural wellbeing, the Ministry of Rural Development (KPLB) has recorded 95% completion for the 66 programmes it initiated this year.
The accomplishment can be seen through the six thrust programmes – implemented through infrastructure, economics, entrepreneurship, human capital, women and delivery systems – that achieved between 80% to 100% of its key performance indicators (KPI), with involvement from all agencies under the ministry.
Its minister Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun said that KPLB spent RM4.796bil to fund each development programme to uplift and benefit the rural community.
Ten infrastructure programmes, including Rural Road (JALB), Village Road Programme (JPD), Rural Water Supply (BALB), Rural Electricity Supply (BELB) and Social Amenities Program (PAMS), achieved 100% of its KPI with an allocation of RM2.733bil.
“From the economic thrust, eight programmes were successfully implemented with an allocation of RM48.48mil, including Agropolitan Desa Lestari, Sustainable Village, Youth Development, Income Improvement Programme, Rural Tourism @ KPLB and PROSPEK.
“Meanwhile, for entrepreneurship, we have achieved great success with 14 exciting programmes including the Rural Entrepreneur Development Road Map, DesaMall @ KPLB, Entrepreneurship Training and Courses, Youth Entrepreneurship and Karnival Usahawan Desa-KUD @ KPLB (Rural Entrepreneurs Carnival @ KPLB).
“In terms of human capital, KPLB has successfully implemented a variety of high-impact programmes through workshops, expos, courses and even Taman Bimbingan Kanak-Kanak (Nursery) transit, ” she added.
Touching on the involvement of women, Rina shared that nine programmes with an allocation of RM8.02mil were organised in the form of parenting skills workshops, Village Botanical Programme, women’s membership in the Village Community Management Councils (MPKK), short-term skills courses and knowledge discourse.
She said, “From the point of view of the delivery system, almost all programmes have achieved excellence – Desa Harapan, Induction Course for MPKK, Program Mesra Rakyat, Program Sahabat KPLB, Program Perkasa Minda Masyarakat, Integrity Day and many more.
“KPLB has also carried out approximately 2,738 monitoring activities for implementation of development projects nationwide.”
Various initiatives such as the Karnival Usahawan Desa programme have been organized to boost rural entrepreneurship.
All in all, KPLB achieved 66 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) this year. For its 2020 Plan, 77 new KPIs that will benefit the target group, namely the rural community, have already been planned.
In addition to the above, the ministry has also developed and launched the Rural Development Policy 2030 with 10 thrust objectives, 33 policy statements and 88 strategies that will benefit 7.8 million rural residents, including:
> Building and upgrading 357km of rural roads in seven states benefiting 117,200 people.
> Building and upgrading 558.54km of village roads programme to benefit 139,500 people in 127 districts across 13 states.
> Implementing the Rural Water Supply Programme in 9,093 homes, benefiting 45,465 people.
> Providing electricity to 13,684 households, benefiting 68,420 people.
> Installing 45,085 village street lights in 9,218 villages and benefit 225,425 villagers.
> Building 1,745 homes under the Poor People’s Housing Programme, including through using the new Industrialised Building System (IBS).
> Rehabilitating 16,814 homes in poverty under the Poor People’s Housing Programme.
> Building and repairing 530 social amenities such as village halls, bridges and playgrounds in rural areas, benefiting 132,500 rural residents.
> Introducing the pilot for the Smart Village Programme, which is to upgrade the internet access facilities in rural areas at the Rural Community Centre in Bukit Kepong benefiting 12,000 villagers in the area.
> For the first time, introducing the Solid Waste Management Pilot Project for rural areas, starting with Taman Sejahtera Rakyat (TSR) at Sungai Toh Pawang, Kedah.
In terms of human capital development, KPLB has successfully recorded the below achievements in education:
> 17,506 new students who have received Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) scholarships to further their studies at home and abroad.
> 28,623 B40 students were offered to study at Maktab Rendah
Sains Mara (MRSM).
> Organising the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) @ KPLB Expo, benefiting 24,696 students.
> 55,708 students graduate through 426 programmes at 274 TVET @ KPLB institutions with 91% marketability.
> 457,088 children have access to early education in 509 Taska and 10,966 Tabika under Jabatan Kemajuan Masyarakat (KEMAS).
> 77 KEMAS Transit Tabika (nursery) premises were developed to accommodate 1,086 children.
> 3,380 youth trained under the Skill and Career Training Programme, with 70% obtaining employment.
> 539 Malaysian students studying in Japan under the Malaysia-Japan Higher Education Programme (MJHEP), which is a twinning programme with 24 Japanese higher education institutions.
> 439 students studying at the top 100 universities worldwide.
> 89 international participants attended one of the seven programmes organised by the Institute of Rural Advancement (INFRA).
In addition, the ministry has also achieved the following, as part of the human capital development thrust:
> 96,752 persons have been appointed to the MPKK, with 18,779 MPKK finishing the induction course.
> 1,236 MPKK and aboriginal MPKK have received a Professional Diploma in Rural Management.
> 1,007 Parenting Skills Workshops with a total of 159,664 participants.
> A total of 23,818 rural women attended leadership seminars under MARA, KEMAS and Institute of Rural Advancement (INFRA).
> A total of 8,767 programmes were held at 191 Rural Community Centres, benefitting 384,809 rural residents.
> 804 Leadership Excellence and Civic Awareness Courses were conducted and attended by 85,030 villagers.
> 446 Functional Literacy Programmes, a 3R classroom for adults, were implemented, involving 10,156 participants.
To develop the rural economy and entrepreneurs, the ministry has executed a range of different programmes through different initiatives, including:
> Launching an Entrepreneur Ecosystem @ KPLB document containing information for 71 entrepreneurship programmes under KPLB that could benefit 83,934 rural entrepreneurs.
> Organising five engagement sessions involving 700 entrepreneurs and representatives of rural cooperatives in the North, East, Sabah, South and Central Zones.
> Organising a series of four Karnival Usahawan Desa-KUD @ KPLB (Rural Entrepreneurs Carnival @ KPLB) which attracted two million visitors with total sales of RM46mil and involved 1,876 entrepreneurs.
> Selecting three villages under the Desa Harapan (Hope Village) Programme, in cooperation with the private sector for socio-economic development to improve the standard of living of 3,378 residents in the villages.
> Selecting three villages under the Hope Village Programme, in cooperation with the private sector for socio-economic development to improve the standard of living of 3,378 residents in the villages.
> Implementing the economic development PROSPEK programme in two areas, involving 13 villages to benefit 6,000 villagers.
> Implementing 187 vegetable cultivation programmes through the Village Botanical Programme aimed at reducing household expenditure, involving 3,720 participants.
> 471 B40 participants of the Income Improvement Programme successfully increased 30% of their income.
> 487 female entrepreneurs received financing under a specific scheme for women entrepreneurs.
> 104 entrepreneurs have penetrated the international market with sales of RM73.32mil through the Gate to Global Programme.
> 80 disabled entrepreneurs received business financing with loans totaling RM1.75mil.
> 18 U.N.I Clinics have been established nationwide under the Professional Entrepreneur Development Programme.
> 2,113 entrepreneurs received MARA business financing with a total financing amount of RM146.52mil.
> 683 series of the KEMAS Quick Win Programme, training 10,149 people to become rural entrepreneurs.
> Developing the DesaMall @ KPLB, an e-commerce programme by expanding it to established online shopping platforms such as Lazada, Shopee and eBay, and training 1,250 rural entrepreneurs to engage in online business.
> Launching Desaauto @ KPLB to assist more than 200 rural entrepreneurs in manufacturing and distributing automotive parts online.
According to Rina, there are many more projects and programmes KPLB will be implementing in 2020 that will benefit the rural population, in line with its “Prosperous Rural” tagline.
KPLB has undertaken many programmes throughout the year to facilitate education for rural communities, including the launch of Tabika Taska Kemas in Johor.
KPLB all ready for 2020 commitment
IN line with the “Prosperous Rural” tagline, the Ministry of Rural Development (KPLB) is committed to its role of developing the rural community.
Therefore, more programmes and projects will be implemented by the ministry in 2020, following the achievement of key performance indicators (KPIs) recorded in 2019.
Its minister Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun said the Rural Development Policy (DPLB) 2030 that was launched on June 27 by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad provides a comprehensive roadmap and overall development strategy in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The DPLB formulation was made in accordance with current policies including the National Rural Physical Planning Policy 2030, the 11th Malaysia Plan Mid-Term Review (11MP), the Rural Development Hope Plan 2018-2023 and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The policy envisages a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable rural development. It outlines three principles: sustainability, inclusive and holistic, each encompassing the basics of sustainability of life, balance and multi-dimensionality.
The prosperous rural vision reflects the Government’s desire to ensure that rural communities have access to infrastructure and social amenities that are comparable to those in urban areas.
“DPLB has 10 thrust, 33 policy statements and 88 strategies that will benefit 7.8 million rural people, ” she said.
The vision is refined in 10 thrust areas of rural development:
1. Competitive and sustainable economy.
2. Entrepreneurship drives economic development.
3. Quality human capital.
4. Complete and sophisticated infrastructure.
5. The excellence of rural youth generation.
6. Progressive rural women.
7. A prosperous rural life.
8. Effective delivery system and governance.
9. Biodiversity and sustainable environment.
10. Housing, territorial development and integrated rural settlements.
The vision of the DPLB is “Prosperous Rural”, which is to create a prosperous rural community in many aspects of life including social, economic, cultural and environmental.
Additionally, the development will be shared regardless of race, religion, social status, gender and age.
The implementation of the DPLB’s roadmap will eventually achieve its common mission of “Leading Rural Development”. KPLB has set 77 KPIs consisting of existing and new programmes.
Among the programmes are Program Desa Lestari, Desamall @ KPLB, Rural Entrepreneurship Support (SPKLB), TVET @ KPLB Expo, TVET @ KPLB Awards, Sahabat @ KPLB, women’s leadership seminar and membership of the Federal Village Community Management Council (MPKKP).
In addition, existing programmes include empowerment of women, Ilham Desa Awards, Anak Syarikat Awards, KPLB governance sessions with stakeholders, development of poor villages, empowerment of Village Community Management Council (MPKK), Village of Hope and grant of MPKK/ MPKKP grants.
KPLB’s main programme planning in 2020 also includes new programmes such as entrepreneur product marketing agencies, Rural Business Outlet, Rural Enterpreneur Millionaire @ KPLB and Rural Premium Gateway.
The new programme also includes sessions with successful entrepreneurs, e-KUDB Village e-Carnival (e-KUD) @KPLB, women’s progressive movements and disaster management courses.
These include rural tourism capsules, entrepreneur outreach, KPLB strategic plans and solid waste management courses.
Rina said the framework was intended to make the countryside attractive and conducive to living, working and investing.
“Some of the major challenges facing the rural community are being addressed, in line with the current changes.
“Among them are the increasing use of digital technology, developments in e-commerce systems and the adoption of new technologies and technologies in the agriculture and business sectors.
“In addition, developments in IR 4.0 are expected to also have implications for the national development landscape and the digital economy, including in rural areas, ” she said.
According to her, by 2030,99% of the rural population will enjoy treated water and electricity.
“I also dream that rural entrepreneurs will continue to look at computers or smartphones as soon as they wake up to see customer orders and stock management, ” she said.
“DPLB will continue to adopt the Prosperous Rural vision that I have inspired over the past year, regardless of my background, race, religion, social status, gender and age, ” she said.
DPLB provides a framework for rural development towards supporting Malaysia to become a developed country by 2025 and high income nation.
