KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Opposition leader Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal has questioned the state government's inconsistencies in its messaging on hardcore poverty eradication.
The Parti Warisan president was commenting on Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor's announcement on Tuesday (Aug 13) that hardcore poverty in Sabah had been eradicated.
However, this was followed by a statement from the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) secretariat in the Chief Minister’s Department (CMD) the next day, suggesting the issue had not been entirely addressed.
Shafie pointed out that the CMD had mentioned that phase two of the Hardcore Poverty Eradication Programme would deal with hardcore poverty cases recently registered in the e-Kasih database.
"These recent inconsistent announcements from the government on hardcore poverty eradication not only create a false narrative but also disregard the true picture of the circumstances of those experiencing extreme hardship in Sabah," Shafie said in a statement on Friday (Aug 16).
Hajiji had stated that the Sabah government had achieved its target of ending extreme poverty by eliminating the hardcore poverty level on a locked figure list of hardcore poor families as of July 31.
On Wednesday (Aug 14), the SMJ secretariat released a statement that 22,510 heads of households (KIR) registered as hardcore poor on the locked figure list in Sabah as of Jan 31, 2023, had been removed from the list through the state’s Hardcore Poverty Eradication Programme.
However, dynamic data in the e-Kasih database showed that 4,634 heads of households were still classified as hardcore poor and were currently being monitored by the secretariat.
The secretariat noted these 4,634 heads of households include new applications registered in the database, those not previously registered, and changes in status from poor to hardcore poor.
It said these groups would be addressed under Phase Two of the Hardcore Poverty Eradication Programme for Sabah, adding that the state government would announce the new locked figure data at the end of this year.
Shafie criticised the state’s move of locking the figure of hardcore poor families, implying it suggests a rigidity in the numbers when poverty is a constantly changing circumstance, especially in the current unstable economic climate.
He suggests these figures should be regularly assessed and updated to make better decisions and solutions.
"There should be flexibility and openness to new information to make informed and rational decisions.
"Go down to the ground and see for yourself the situation out there," he said.
To move towards eradicating hardcore poverty, Shafie believes there should be a formula based on accurate and realistic figures, as well as clear classification of what constitutes hardcore poor, to provide a realistic picture of the situation in Sabah.
"Programmes that include giving out handouts in the form of a few thousand ringgit per household only perpetuate dependency and fail to address the root causes of poverty, making it an unsustainable and ineffective long-term solution," he said.
