Speaking at the state’s Kaamatan celebration in Penampang, Sabah, Anwar said he is confident the state can achieve the target as the number of heads of households in the hardcore poor category has dropped from 20,000 to 9,000.

“Households in hardcore poverty cannot even afford essential items such as school uniforms, proper meals or even infant formula for babies,” he said.

“We want to eradicate hardcore poverty in Sabah by the end of July 2024. This is our top priority.

“We can talk about other issues, but if our children do not have enough to eat, we have to do something.”

While Anwar was reported to have said last month that the government was committed to eradicating hardcore poverty in Sabah, he did not provide a deadline.

Anwar today said aside from efforts to eradicate hardcore poverty, the state is also looking into resolving the issue of dilapidated schools and problems with water supply, especially since they involve allocations approved by the federal government.

He added that the decision to exclude Sabah and Sarawak in the new diesel subsidy rationalisation programme was due to the widespread use of diesel in the two states.