Fatimah replies to a question at the Sarawak Legislative Assembly. – Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING (May 10): The Sarawak government has allocated RM27.12 million under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) for various socioeconomic projects aimed at tackling poverty in Song District.
Women, Childhood, and Community Wellbeing Development Minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said this included RM24.9 million for 116 Rural Transformation Project initiatives and RM1 million for 129 house repair projects under Program Penambahbaikan Rumah Rakyat Miskin Sarawak.
“In addition, a sum of RM1.22 million has been allocated for socioeconomic development in Song District under Upper Rajang Development Agency (Urda).
“These include entrepreneurship programmes, inland fisheries development programmes, skills training, and community support programmes for poor households in Song District,” she said when answering a question from Lidam Assan (GPS-Katibas) at the Sarawak Legislative Assembly today.
Lidam had asked on steps taken to reduce poverty in Song District, which has been declared as one of the poorest districts in Malaysia according to Department of Statistics Malaysia data in 2020.
In response, Fatimah said the Sarawak government took a multidimensional approach to combat poverty, particularly in rural areas.
This approach encompasses the provision of basic infrastructure and utilities, capacity building, access to health and education services, housing, and various socioeconomic projects.
Fatimah also detailed the socioeconomic programmes implemented by Urda to uplift income levels.
These include 12 people centric projects covering areas such as inland fisheries, entrepreneurship in sewing and bakery industries, agricultural projects, processing of sugarcane juice, banana chips, frozen curry puffs, and yeast processing.
Agricultural diversification programmes focusing on cash crops, field crops, herbs, and spices have also been initiated.
Regarding the level of poverty in Song District, Fatimah said as of April 15, there were 461 hardcore poor households and 774 poor households under eKasih.
According to Poverty Line Income for Sarawak 2022, hardcore poor households are those that earn a maximum RM1,298 per month, while the household income for those categorised as poor is RM2,618 per month.