TUARAN: Kampung Penimbawan in Sulaman is among 10 villages in Sabah selected for the first phase of the Keluarga Malaysia Hardcore Poor Eradication Programme (BMTKM) which will kick off in May.
Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor thanked Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed for the selection of the villages in the state.
The programme initiated by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) in the Prime Minister's Department aims to address the abject poverty issue in Sabah.
"As the elected representative of the constituency, I am grateful that Penimbawan has been chosen for this programme," he said.
Hajiji who is Sulaman state assemblyman, said Penimbawan was formerly a village of houses raised on stilts before being relocated to dry land with federal help.
Hajiji who is also state Finance Minister said this at the briefing of Kampung Penimbawan BMTKM at the District Office here.
At the briefing, Mustapa told Hajiji that 23 hardcore poor household heads (KIRT) have been selected in Penimbawan.
Under the BMTKM, each of the family will be given help tailored to their preferred job.
In Penimbawan, most of the participants continued as fishermen while some wanted to venture into madu kelulut (stingless bee honey), chicken and duck rearing as well as being a sundry shop operator.
According to Mustapa, 20 more villages in Sabah will be selected for the BMTKM in the second and third phase this year.
As of April 15, the EPU in the Prime Minister's Department has listed down 196,640 family heads in Malaysia to be in the hardcore poor (KIRT) category.
"The highest is Sarawak with 58,611 KIRT followed by Sabah with 31,598; Kelantan (28,553) and Kedah (15,964).
"Under the initiative underlined in the federal 2022 Budget tabled by the Prime Minister, the government wants to declare Malaysia as a zero-hardcore country by the end of 2025," he said.
Mustapa said the federal government aimed to implement the BMTKM in 1,000 localities nationwide within the next three years.
The KIRT in the hardcore poor category are those with a total household monthly income of below RM1,200.
Besides Penimbawan, the other localities in Sabah chosen for the first phase of the BMTKM were Kampung Penangah in Tongod; Kampung Bongkol (Pitas); Kampung Sembirai (Kota Belud); Kampung Tandek (Kota Marudu); Kampung Pelakat (Sipitang); Kampung Binsulok (Beaufort); Kampung Tetabuan (Beluran); Kampung Kaingaran (Ranau); and Kampung Lima (Nabawan).
Also at the briefing were state Rural Development Minister Datuk Jahid Jahim and State Secretary Datuk Seri Safar Untong.