He added that the Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2022 report showed the rate of hardcore poverty in eight Sabah districts exceeded the national rate, with Tongod (at 5.9%) being the highest, Bernama reported.

“This is followed by Beluran (5%), Pitas (4.8%), Kinabatangan (4.6%), Kota Marudu (4%), Tuaran (2.6%), as well as Ranau and Lahad Datu (2.4% each),” he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was addressing a query from Shafie Apdal (Warisan-Semporna), who asked about hardcore poverty, particularly in the eight districts Rafizi mentioned.

Shafie also asked what government initiatives were in place to alleviate the problem, plus any funding that may be available.

Rafizi said the disparity was significant, considering that the national hardcore poverty rate had decreased from 1% in 2020 to 0.2% in 2022.

He said the government introduced the central database hub (Padu) to accurately identify those eligible for assistance and had discussed the matter with the Sabah government.

“Once all the information has been gathered under Padu and comprehensive mapping has been done of previously overlooked areas, numerous hardcore poor families in Sabah will have the opportunity to access assistance.

“This aid encompasses financial support and programmes tailored for their children, such as TVET,” he said.

Rafizi added the current focus in Sabah is on creating job opportunities through integrated farming, for example, through the people’s income initiative.

Rafizi said the Sabah government is providing land for cultivation, with 390 hardcore poor families working on 204ha of land across eight districts, growing a variety of crops, including pineapples, chillis, corn and soybean.

“If we look at the performance of the initiative elsewhere, the monthly income for the first harvest ranges from RM2,200 to RM5,600 per month.

“If we manage to replicate this success in Sabah, it could result in every hardcore poor family involved in this initiative being able to lift themselves out of poverty within two years,” he said.