Priority for efforts to end poverty in Sabah, says minister

Priority for efforts to end poverty in Sabah, says minister

Mustapa Mohamed says a cabinet committee chaired by the PM will give proposals to the Economic Planning Unit.

A kampung scene in Sembulan, Sabah. The poverty rate in the state is 19.5%, according to a federal minister.
KOTA KINABALU:
The federal government will prioritise the efforts to reduce the poverty rate in Sabah in the 12th Malaysia Plan, Cabinet minister Mustapa Mohamed said today.

He said a Cabinet committee chaired by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had been set up to ensure that the efforts would be carried out in a proper and effective manner.

The committee would give proposals on measures to tackle poverty issues to the Economic Planning Unit, said Mustapa, who is a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department

“According to the Statistics Department’s data, the national poverty rate currently stood at 5.6% while in Sabah, it is 19.5%. Starting next year, under the 12MP, we will use the latest data to formulate a policy to tackle poverty issues,” he told a press conference here today.

Mustapa said the districts with highest poverty rates in Sabah were Tongod, Pitas and Kota Marudu, which are around 50%.

Hence, he said the 12MP, which will be tabled in Parliament early next year, would be the first phase of the government’s efforts to create a new concept through the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030, which would be the basis for implementing sustainable development over the next 10 years.

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