In a speech read by Deputy Chief Minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan, Musa said a continuous effort to transform Sabah was part of the state’s long-term strategic development plan called Sabah LEAP 2016-2035.
“Among the targets of Sabah LEAP are to achieve zero poverty by the year 2035 and to ensure all rural areas in the state have clean water supply and electricity.
“These are achievable only through close cooperation between the state and federal governments,” he told delegates of a coordination meeting between federal Rural and Regional Development Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and his state counterpart here Sunday evening.
Musa, who is also state finance minister, said the rural transformation efforts were in line with Sabah’s Halatuju or master plan to bring development and progress to the state.
“The proper and effective planning and implementation of policies, strategies, programmes and projects, coupled with the commitment of all quarters and close rapport between the state and federal governments, have greatly benefited the people.
“The prime minister’s various transformation programmes have helped many Sabahans escape the clutches of poverty.
“Sabah has seen a very drastic poverty reduction rate, from 19.7% in 2009 to 2.9% in 2016. I believe the poverty rate can be brought down to below 1% by the end of the 11th Malaysia Plan,” he said.
According to Musa, the state government welcomed the coordination meeting which would tackle rural development issues at both the state and national levels.
“In this context, the Sabah government thanks the federal rural and regional development ministry for providing a big annual allocation to implement electricity and clean water generating projects to Sabah’s rural areas under the Rural Electricity Supply Programme (BELB) and Rural Water Supply Programme (BALB).
“We hope the ministry will keep helping Sabah achieve its rural development objectives.”
Musa was also confident that the federal ministry would intensify the implementation of small projects throughout Sabah’s villages under the Rural Connecting Road programme.
The presence of district and assistant district officers at the meeting showed Sabah’s commitment to realising rural folks’ aspirations for better inter-village connectivity, he added.
“The Sabah government through the Ministry of Rural Development has and will implement the Program Mini Estet Sejahtera (Mesej) poverty eradication projects in many districts.
“A total of 52 agriculture, aquaculture and micro Mesej projects have been and will be carried out across the state.
“When completed, the Mesej projects would have helped 2,500 heads of hardcore poor households in Sabah.”