POVERTY IN SABAH, AN ILLUSION?

By : MELANIE CHIA

THE fact that Sabah is still one of the poorest state in Malaysia cannot be denied by the Sabah State Government. No matter how the State Government refuted this status, it remains a fact that Sabah still has the most poor people in Malaysia, and not just poor, but hard core poor.

The revelation of the destitute family of widow Rosnia @ Annie Marambal brings to light the tip of the iceberg of the poverty situation in the State. And more disturbing is the acknowledgement by the Kota Marudu Member of Parliament YB Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili that there are over 2,000 hardcore poor households in Kota Marudu according to the e-Kasih statistics.

According to Maximus, who is also the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, the government is trying to resolve the problem under the National Key Results Area (NKRA) and he hopes to take Kota Marudu out of poverty within the next five years.

We hope the Government can be more concerted in the poverty eradication program. So much money has been allocated and spent over the 8th and the 9th Malaysia Plan but we still get reports of abject poverty in the State.

There has been so many good reports and revelation by the media on poverty related cases in the past years: the many social visits by NGOs, and even a visit by the Crotian Ambassador to Kampung Morion in Kota Marudu.

The Kota Marudu MP should appreciate the contributions by the various sectors of society who show concerns in his constituency. Even Rosnia was quoted as saying that if not for the media help, she would not be getting all the attention when the relevant authorities entrusted with poverty eradication efforts failed. After the recent media reporting, Rosnia was registered under the e-Kasih programme.

"The plea of Rosnia and her family revealed that the delivery system is not reaching the people who most needed help! Which also means that the billions of dollars spent may not be reaching the target group. And Rosnia and few others reported in the media are just the few who get reported but there are still so many who are not reported but in equivalent destitute condition. What about our youths from the northern region who have to go and find work in KL and some even got stranded!," lamented Melanie.

The least the Kota Marudu MP could do is to appreciate the contributions by the civil society and all quarters in helping and heeding to the pleas of the needy. Perhaps he could also help to ensure that there is a greater degree of efficiency and accountability of the public spending.