MESEJ WAY TO FIGHT RURAL POVERTY

INSPECTING..... Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak accompanied by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Aman and Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan inspecting the fresh water fish project under Kg Nala MESEJ aquaculture programme.

By : OLIVER M AND FIZAH YUSOF

ACCORDING to estimate Sabah's poverty rate dropped sharply from 24.2 percent in 2004 to 19.7 percent in 2009 when the first flush of high impact anti povety programmes made itself felt in the rural areas. The state government continued these measures right through the nineth and tenth Malaysia Plan.

In a continuing effort to further reduce the poverty rate in the state, the state government allocated a sum of RM202.12 million to carry out poverty eradication programmes in its 2013 budget.

Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Aman is confident that the various poverty eradication programmes, complemented by similar Federal government programmes, would reduce the poverty problems especially the hardcore poverty in Sabah.

The MESEJ programme was started in 2003 by the state government as one of the ways to tackle the problem of rural poverty.

Under the programme, participants were encouraged to work on plantation estates to earn wages as well as a share of the estate's profit in a sharing scheme devised by the government. The government also provides housing facilities for the participants as well as other amenities.

So far there are now 44 MESEJ programmes throughout Sabah, which consist of 29 Sejahtera Mini Oil Palm and Rubber Estate, 6 Aquaculture Sejahtera Mini Estate, 7 Micro Aquaculture Sejahtera Mini Estate and 2 Integrated Sejahtera Mini Estate involving more than 1,500 participants.

Out of the current 44 MESEJ programmes, 5 MESEJ programmes have been set up in the East Coast of Sabah namely Nala in Lahad Datu, Log Buton in Semporna, Pulau Sebatik in Tawau and two in Kunak, MESEJ Pangi and MESEJ Sapang.

Encouraged by the success of the MESEJ programme the government has plan to open up three new estates in 2013 in Kota Belud, Beaufort and Kinabatangan as well as one at Membakut. The MESEJ programme for this year will focus mainly on palm oil.

During a visit to Kg Pangi MESEJ in Kunak, Minister of Rural Development Datuk Dr Ewon Ebin praised the MESEJ aquaculture programme in Kg Pangi as another example of the effectiveness of the government's programme as it has helped the target group greatly.

He said through the cultivation of seaweed, participants of the programme managed to earn between RM3,000 to RM13,000 per month.

He said besides improving the income of the participants, the government has also constructed 100 houses in Kg Pangi MESEJ for the participants of the programme.

Ewon also revealed  that the construction of 30 houses for the Sapang MESEJ programme will be completed in February 2013. MESEJ Sapang has 240 acres of land cultivated with oil palm.

With the introduction of the 4 new MESEJ programmes in 2013 the government hopes to increase the number of participants from 1,500 people to more than 2,000 people.

Besides the MESEJ programmes, other government poverty eradication programmes are the PPRT Estate, Agropolitan, 1 AZAM, Housing Assistance Program (PBR), Urban Poverty Eradication Programme (PPKB) and Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB). (Insight Sabah)