Why only Sabah State government interested in eradicating Hardcore Poverty?

There is no attempt at all to eradicate poverty only Hard core
poverty, so how can poverty be eradicated.

Worst, Sabah state govenment is almost bankrupt, and yet it is the
only body that is interested. The Malaysian(Malayan) government is
not interested at all, despite getting most of the revenue that Sabah
produces, as a result of the generosity of Sabahan BN puppet
government in surrendering all its resources contrary to the Malaysian
agreement.

http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=75274

Sabah not poorest state

Posted on November 15, 2010, Monday

KOTA KINABALU: The State Economic Planning Unit (EPU) of the Chief
MinisterÕs Department has refuted the news report that Sabah is the
poorest state in the country, saying poverty rate in the state was
reduced from 24.2% in 2004 to 16.4% in 2007.

In a rebuttal issued yesterday, the State EPU said the World Bank had
acknowledged in its Inclusive Growth report on 10 Nov that between
1976 and 2004, the State and Federal Government had made great strides
in poverty reduction, so much so that the number of poor households in
Sabah had been reduced from more than 50% in 1976 to 24.2% by the end
of 2004.

ÒThese are facts which are borne out by official statistics based on
the Household Income Survey (HIS) which is carried out at periodic
intervals by the Department of Statistics.

ÒThe Sabah State EPU also wishes to state the fact that based on the
Household Income Survey, the State Government under Datuk Seri
Panglima Musa Haji Aman had successfully reduced the incidence of
household poverty in Sabah from 24.2% in 2004 to 16.4% in 2007.

ÒIf not for the ensuing financial crisis in 2008 and 2009 and the
resultant increase in the prices of many essential items such as food
and transportation due to the reduction in fuel subsidies, the Sabah
EPU is confident that the incidence of household poverty would have
been reduced much further.

According to the State EPU, the mean monthly gross income of Sabahans
had at the same time increased from RM2,593 in 2004 to RM3,102 in
2009, a very respectable average growth of 5.3% annually for the
period 2004-2009, which is better than many states in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, income distribution data from the HIS also indicated that
for the same period the number of Sabahans enjoying income of between
RM1,000 to RM1,999 had increased substantially by 2009.

The Government is targeting to totally eliminate hardcore poverty by
the end of this year.

ÒIt is regrettable that certain people have chosen to ignore the fact
that even in developed countries, by their own standard measure of
poverty, a substantial proportion of their population remains poor,Ó
it said.

ÒFor example, the CIA World Fact Book, an often cited reference
document, has stated that in 2004, 12% of the population of the United
States and 14% of that of the United Kingdom in 2006 live below their
respective poverty line and thus classified as poor.

ÒDo these make United Kingdom and United States poor countries or
poorest amongst the developed countries which perform better than them?
Ó

The State EPU said the World Bank team in the course of the
preparation for the Inclusive Growth report had made a working visit
to Sabah in September 2010 and had had discussions and consultations
with a cross section of individuals and groups in Sabah both from the
private and public sector including academics and NGOs.

ÒThe World Bank team had also visited and assessed the state poverty
eradication programmes such as projects under the Mini Estate
Sejahtera (MESEJ) program and the microcredit scheme under Yayasan
Usaha Maju, a State Government agency providing small loans to the
poor and low income group especially women to allow them to do small
scale businesses and economic activities that can provide sustainable
incomes for them and their families.

ÒIt is a fact that the World Bank was impressed with these programmes,
the tremendous success in the reduction of poverty in Sabah and the
State GovernmentÕs dedication and continuing efforts to eradicate
poverty in Sabah.Ó

It said that other than the poverty eradication programmes mentioned
earlier such as MESEJ, the State Government is presently undertaking
many other poverty programmes aimed at not only raising the income of
the poor but also ensuring a better quality of life for poor families
in both rural and urban areas especially in housing, education and
health.

The State Government has embarked on the implementation of the
AGROPOLITAN projects in areas with pockets of poverty in Sabah such as
Banggi, Pitas, Tongod, Kota Belud, Tenom and Sook/Nabawan under the
9th Malaysia Plan.

On completion these Agropolitan projects would significantly
contribute to reducing poverty further in Sabah.

Likewise, the Federal Government had also embarked on the
implementation of the six National Key Results Areas (NKRAs)
(2010-2012).

One of these is the NKRA pertaining to the development of Rural Basic
Infrastructures in Sabah.

The plan calls for the construction of 1,020 kilometres of rural
roads, provision of electricity and water supply to ensure that 95%
and 90% of rural folks in Sabah obtain these services, and
construction of new houses and repair of existing ones involving
12,494 of poor households.

Meanwhile, the NKRA for Low Income Households had set target to raise
income level of the bottom 40 % of households through the 1ZAM
programs in four main areas Ð agriculture, business, jobs and
training.

The State EPU expressed confidence that with all these untiring
efforts and dedication to development, Sabah will definitely prosper
and on track to become a developed state, where the fruits of
development will be shared equitably by all Sabahans.