KOTA KINABALU, Sept 14 (Bernama) -- People in Sabah have experienced marked progress in terms of development and life quality after the state gained independence by joining the Federation to form Malaysia on Sept 16, 1963.
Before, many in the state were living below the poverty line but now the situation has significantly changed with those categorised as poor and hardcore poor have been drastically reduced in their number.
Based on the Mid Term Review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP), the poverty rate in Sabah has dropped to 16 per cent as compared to 23.0 per cent in 2004.
As for the hardcore poor in the state, their number has declined significantly to 3.7 per cent in 2007 as against 6.5 per cent in 2004.
This marked drop in the poverty rate showed the state government's efforts and determination to resolve issues faced by the people particularly the lower income group who live in the rural areas and interiors of the state.
Hence, it is no surpsrise that the Sabah government expected to completely eradicate the harcore poverty issue by the year 2020.
Sabah Minister for Rural Development Datuk Dr Ewon Ebin talked about this issue in an interview with Bernama journalist Newmond Tibin.
The following is the interview.
BERNAMA: How do you perceive the drop in poverty index before Sabah achieved independence via the creation of Malaysia on Sept 16, 1963 and the period after Merdeka?
DR EWON: If we view the situation in Sabah before Merdeka, the poverty rate then was very high particularly in the rural areas. This was due to several factors.
First, at that time there were no infrastructures that linked an area to another in the rural parts of the state. Second, people in the rural areas resorted to traditional methods when cultivating their land.
The situation now is very much different where the rural areas have excellent facilities. Roads in these areas not only connect villages but also provide access to agriculture land, and this helps to boost the people's economy.
For example my constituency of Kundasang in 1985, people there had to walk for some six hours from a village to another remote settlement as there were no roads then but now there are roads there. The government has also issued various assistance to the people including guidance on how to cultivate the land.
It is the same with education. Before, there were too few rural children who had education and the necessary skills in order to be able to compete in the job market. Now that situation is no more as almost all of the rural areas have schools, either primary or secondary schools. Many of our people are now able to obtain education. It is clear that people in rural areas are more aware on the importance of education now. Apart from that, the existence of power and water supply has added to the comfort of the poor in Sabah.
BERNAMA: How far has the poverty-eradication programme in Sabah succeeded particularly after Barisan Nasional (BN) took over the state's administration in 1994?
DR EWON: The success of this programme is something to be proud of. However there is room for improvement. The state government has implemented various programmes to eradicate poverty since 1994. Among them is the housing programme for the hardcore poor (PPRT). Many of the poor and hardcore poor families have benefitted from this programme. The government has provided assistance in the form of zinc plates for roofing and water tanks for use by the poor families. Subsidies for paddy-planting were also given. I think these assistance have alleviated their problems.
BERNAMA: There were claims that the government was late in acting or not successful in dealing with the poverty issue in Sabah. What can you say about these claims?
DR EWON: I am not agreeable with this perception. The government worked hard to resolve the poverty issue. From time to time, the government is always devising strategies to safeguard the interest of the people particularly those in the rural areas. And at the same time we try to change their mindset for them to accept transformation.
For example during the administration of the Berjaya government, they tried to relocate people who stayed in rural areas to new settlements but many had declined the move to new areas as they were used to their moderate way of life. To them, as long as there were food, salt and vegetables that could be planted near the jungles, then they were comfortable.
That was the reason why the then relocation schemes received poor response and this had retarded the progress of poverty eradication programme in the state. In this context, we try to convince them to change their mindset and cultivate their land with various crops not only to meet their needs but also for commercial reasons, hence improving their status of living.
BERNAMA: Do you agree that the implementation of the New Economic Policy (DEB) (1971-1990) had contributed much to the improvement of life quality for people in Sabah, that helped to push them out of the poverty clutches?
DR EWON: The New Economic Policy is a good government policy and this policy, among else, aimed to reduce poverty via a two-pronged strategy, reducing poverty and restructuring the society in Malaysia including those in Sabah.
There is much difference when comparing the situation before and now. Before the DEB was introduced, many things were dominated by only one group, but after implementaion of the DEB, many Bumiputera including those in Sabah's rural areas had benefitted from this policy that allocated a special quota for the Bumiputera community particularly in the economic sector.
The government, through this policy, is bent on trying to boost production and living status of the poor by modernisation programmes of the rural zones and it is evident that the New Economic Policy had brought significant improvement to people in this country particularly the Bumiputera in Sabah.
BERNAMA: One of the poverty edradication programmes for rural areas is the housing project for the hardcore poor (PPRT). How far is the success of this programme? There were allegations that many villagers who were in need of housing were not given the opportunity to own houses. What is your say on this?
DR EWON: The intention of the government in implementing PPRT is sincere but it cannot be denied that there were some elligible residents who were 'left out'. However we are trying to work out solutions as soon as possible to assist them. The PPRT project received strong support from the federal government and recently the Rural and Regional Development Ministry announced that it will construct 50,000 PPRT houses nationwide and most of these houses will be constructed in Sabah within the next three years.
In my view with the implementation of this housing programme, many poor and hardcore poor people will be able to own more comfortable houses. We implement the PPRT progrmme every year and this year alone we will build 35-50 units of PPRT housing in each district for those who are elligible. We hope in the coming three years more poor people will be provided with the PPRT homes. We have the list of people earning below RM900 a month who should be given the priority in the PPRT programme.
BERNAMA: What is the long-term plan by the state government in dealing with the poverty issue in Sabah?
DR EWON: We admitted that the number of hardcore poor is still high in Sabah, at more than 16,000 people. What we have planned so far is to provide assistance to improve their economy. If we give them houses but no income, then our vision has failed.
That is why the government has introduced several poverty eradication programmes including the agropolitan project. The agropolitan project helps us to assist the harcore poor to develop wide expanse of land with rubber or oil palm cultivation. We provide basic infrastructures like roads, water and electricity supply as well as other facilities like clinics, community halls and places of worship.
According to our plans, apart from the agropolitan project in Banggi, Pitas, Kota Belud and Kemabong, similar projects will also be held in Beluran and Tongod. So is the mini estate project (Mesej) introduced to eradicate hardcore poverty in Sabah, where we will help in creating smaller-scale projects as compared to the agropolitan project to boost the income of those who live in the rural areas below the poverty line.
In terms of implementation, the Sabah government is out to assist the poor regardless of their political affiliation. What is important is that we want to see people in the rural areas to prosper and live well.
BERNAMA: What is the main challenge faced in the implementation of poverty eeradication programme in Sabah?
DR EWON: If we view the implementation of the poverty eradication programme, it appears to be easy but it is actually not as simple as that. For example the agropolitan programme in Pitas, it was planned since 2005 but could not be implemented earlier as there were objections from certain parties that delayed its implementation. This project was supposed to begin with rubber cultivation in 2008. Fortunately the issues were ironed out and this project will be continued.
Apart from the delivery system problem, the delayed tender process caused the late implementation of the project. The same with the fishermen, we encouraged them to diversify their source of income by cultivating seaweed and rearing caged fish. I am confident if all the poverty eradication programmes implemented by the government run smoothly, poverty in Sabah particularly the hardcore poverty will be eradicated by 2020.
BERNAMA: There are certain parties that claimed that the government has not done anything to develop rural areas in Sabah especially after the state achieved independence by joining the Malaysia Federation. What is your comment on this?
DR EWON: These claims are baseless. the government has brought much development in Sabah including its rural areas and will continue to develop the state in accordance with the development in other states. Recently we received an economic stimulus package of RM1.0 billion to implement various development projects mostly in the state's rural areas.
So is the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) project that comprises various rural development projects. The projects will be implemented, and will greatly benefit the poor in these areas.
The Rural and Regional Development Ministry also allocated RM2.0 billion for the construction of roads in the Sabah rural districts within the next three years. There is the allocation of RM4.0 billion for water supply projects nationwide and that also included projects in Sabah.
There are many more development projects that will be implemented by the government and it is not true that the government has done nothing to develop the state. I hope the Sabah people are not easily swayed and confused by certain parties out to poison their minds.
In conjunction with the Malaysia Day celebration on Sept 16, I call on the Sabah people to remember and commemorate the struggle of our past leaders who placed the strong foundation for the state to progress to achieve excellence. (By Newmond Tibin/ Bernama)
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