PENAMPANG: Eradicating hardcore poverty in Sabah is a top priority, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The Prime Minister said that he is confident that the issue can be resolved as the number of heads of households in the hardcore poor category in Sabah has now dropped to just 9,000 from 20,000 previously.
The issue of hardcore poverty in Sabah, he said, is far more serious than other states such as Penang and Selangor and hence, the integrated cooperation between the federal and state governments needs to be strengthened towards solving the problem.
"Hardcore poverty means that they can’t even afford to buy school uniforms, proper meals or even infant formula for babies. That is why the federal and state governments join hands in eradicating hardcore poverty.
"We want to eradicate hardcore poverty in Sabah by the end of July 2024. This is our top priority. We can talk about other issues, but if our children do not have enough to eat, the onus is on us to do something,” he said when officiating the closing ceremony of the Kaamatan Festival at Kadazandusun Cultural Association’s (KDCA) Hongkod Koisaan Hall here on Friday.
The month-long Kaamatan Festival began with the opening ceremony in Ranau on May 1. The harvest festival has now evolved into a festival of unity celebrated by people of various backgrounds in Sabah, as well as the whole country.
Also present at the closing ceremony were Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzli, Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali and KDCA president Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan.
In his speech, Anwar also said that apart from efforts to eradicate hardcore poverty, matters related to dilapidated schools and water supply issues in Sabah were also being addressed, especially as they involved allocations approved by the Federal Government.
This includes the issue of electricity supply since Sabah is still facing that problem, he said.
Anwar said continuous discussions held between the federal and the state governments were a good tradition that proves the close relationship between the two.
"Through these discussions, we may modify some existing plans and pay attention to the new proposals,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Anwar said the decision to exclude Sabah and Sarawak in the retargeting of the diesel subsidy was taken due to the widespread use of diesel in Sabah as compared to other states in the peninsula.
It is also based on the needs of the people and not due to the requests from the state government involved, he said.
In the meantime, the Prime Minister said that the recent electricity tariff adjustment managed to save about RM4.5bil of government money, while the implementation of the targeted diesel subsidy for one year is expected to save RM4bil.
"So, all this while, we have given RM8bil in charity or subsidies to the rich and foreigners. Now, when we stop, we save (government money).
"I have to say this because some parties may turn it into a political issue. The targeted subsidy is a measure taken to benefit the people,” he said.
Anwar, who arrived in Kota Kinabalu late Thursday night, is scheduled to perform Friday prayers at the Royal Malaysian Police headquarters Mosque, Kapayan here before leaving for Labuan where he is scheduled to attend a meet-and-greet session with the local community at the Labuan RORO Ferry Terminal and a briefing on Smart Labuan City at Wisma Perbadanan Labuan later on Friday.- Bernama
