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The recent announcement by the Chief Minister, Hajiji Mohd Noor that hardcore poverty in Sabah had been succesfully eradicated is disputable.
It is interesting to note that Hajiji made the announcement in reference to the 22,150 KIRs listed as Sabah’s hardcore poor as at January 31, 2023 and this is the list that the Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim wanted GRS to clear by end of last month when he made the announcement in May 31.
The number 22,150 certainly do not reflect the reality on the ground and Hajiji do not have to travel all over the State to know this. Penampang that is located 13km from the State Capital still has hardcore poor and so does certain areas at Inanam.
And how about the repeated flooding in Penampang that causes damages to houses and vehicles of poor people – will they not be considered as hardcore poor if they’re unable to make immediate repair?
I also noted the corrective statement issued by the SMJ Secretariat that 4,634 KIRs are listed as new hardcore poor and they do not form part of the locked figure of 22,150. This statement reinforce the argument by Sabahans in social medias that hardcore poverty in Sabah cannot be eradicated so long as our economy, infrastructure and education remain in sorry condition.
Hajiji should use whatever data and statistic the Government have collected to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and not to exploit it for superficial success. The Government’s main focus should be to upskill recepients so that they will secure permanent employments or start their own businesses.
Less we forget, education and employment are the key to build strong self confidence within the hardcore poor in Sabah.
With the weakening of State’s economy and domestic consumption, economic stagnation with thousands of fresh school leavers and graduates entering the labour market soon will cause the rate of unemployment and mismatch employment to rise.
Stagnation causes people to loose jobs and those at the lowest rung having no education will be at risks so will we see increase of new hardcore poor from the 4,634 mentioned by SMJ Secretariat?
If yes, then Hajiji’s success of delisting 22,150 KIRs from the hardcore poor will be deemed obsolete and some of those delisted may find themselves back in again.
Obviously more jobs needed to be created with bulk of it should come from the private sectors but how will our Micro Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (MSME) be able to effectively assist Sabah in this matter if they themselves are facing a multitude of challenges ranging from high cost of doing businesses, bad infrastructures, erratic water and electricity supplies, the 8% tax, flooding, e-invoicing and so forth?
Terrence Siambun
Vice President
Parti Warisan
