On the ground: Anwar visiting a stall at the Padang Rengas community event in Pekan Isnin. — Bernama
KUALA KANGSAR: The implementation of the Sejahtera Komuniti Madani (SejaTi Madani) programme to empower the community through socioeconomic improvement activities will involve all villages nationwide, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The Prime Minister said although the programme could not be implemented simultaneously, it was up to the parties responsible to improve village economy.
“(Through) SejaTi Madani, we are giving direct responsibility and challenging the villages to do so, where they will each be given an allocation of between RM50,000 and RM100,000.
“The imam, village head, the penghulu, youth association, the women folk and the mosque committee, you get together and discuss properly.
“I will give you the funds, you decide what to do with it that benefits villagers. You can buy tractors or boats, but the decision is not by one person (but) that of every representative of the village community,” he said at an event with the community of Padang Rengas at Dataran Arena Square Pekan Isnin here yesterday, Bernama reported.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, advised the village community to make the best decision to ensure the success of the programme, adding that RM1bil had been allocated for the initiative in Budget 2025.
SejaTi Madani is aimed at stimulating economic activities at the community level to increase income.
When tabling the Budget on Oct 18, Anwar also announced that RM100mil would be used to empower the communities at the People’s Housing Programme nationwide through various socioeconomic programmes.
The Prime Minister said he was satisfied with the large allocation for the SejaTi Madani programme because it would go directly to the village community to implement the programme, which will be monitored by the Implementation Coordination Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department as well as district officers.
In another development, the Prime Minister said more than 15,000 of the 18,000 household heads in the hardcore poverty category were out of the vicious cycle of poverty, with the remaining to be resolved before the end of the year.
The problem of hardcore poverty involving 161,000 household heads was resolved last year through various assistance channelled by the government, he said.
Meanwhile, Anwar, who is also Pakatan Harapan chairman, advised the leaders of all political parties and in the government to work hard to raise the dignity of the people and the country by putting aside their differences.
“My advice is, if we want to do it, do it now (and) when we have the power; do it well, clean, raise the dignity of the people and bring change ... that’s the test (while having power),” he said.
Earlier, the Prime Minister approved an allocation of RM1.3mil for a project to build a 3km-long cement-based estate road in Kawasan Blok C Pendusunan Ulu Kongsor, Padang Rengas here.
