Sabah govt serious about tackling hardcore poverty, says Hajiji

KOTA KINABALU: A host of programmes and initiatives are being implemented by the Sabah government to eradicate hardcore poverty in the state, says Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.

The Chief Minister said that the state has allocated RM125mil yearly for the SMJ Housing Programme to build houses for hardcore poor families listed under the eKasih programme statewide through the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) secretariat

“The government will also provide some RM175mil for poverty eradication programmes that include securing employment for the target group so that they can come out from the hardcore poor category,” he said.

Hajiji said this in his speech at the state-level 2023 (1445H) Maulidur Rasul celebration at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) on Thursday (Sept 28).

“The state government also welcomes the commitment by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to improve the welfare of the people by eradicating poverty which is in line with the teachings of Prophet Muhammad SAW,” he added.

Hajiji said human capital development was an essential aspect of SMJ, the state’s development blueprint, and it was also in line with aspirations of the Malaysia Madani framework.

As such, he said, the state gave priority to education and training under SMJ, with the aim of creating an educated, skilled and highly adaptable workforce.

One such initiative was the SMJ Fellow Programme 2.0, he pointed out.

“This programme represents the state government’s efforts to empower human capital development,” he said.

The programme, which started early this month, covers diploma and STPM holders and their equivalent in addition to degree holders, Hajiji added.

He said the programme involved placement in government departments and agencies as well as government-linked companies with the aim of creating more future leaders for Sabah.