KOTA KINABALU: Kinabatangan member of Parliament, Datuk Seri Panglima Bung Moktar Radin, has stressed the urgency for the GRS government to take decisive action in addressing the abject poverty situation in 8 districts of Sabah, including the Chief Minister’s district, Tuaran.
He emphasized that it is crucial for the government to go above and beyond in finding an immediate solution to uplift these districts from poverty.
He said if this issue is not resolved promptly, it will make a mockery of the state government’s slogan of “Sabah Maju Jaya” (SMJ).
Despite the government’s efforts being widely publicized through various media platforms and public events, there are still several districts in the state that remain in poverty, he said in his latest Facebook post.
Bung Moktar highlighted the need for action and integrated solutions. Without them, the SMJ concept will be seen as mere rhetoric, failing to achieve its objectives and tarnishing the image of the state government.
This would depict that the SMJ slogan is no longer relevant, he said.
These statements were made by Bung Moktar in his latest Facebook post, in response to the Economic Minister, Rafizi Ramli’s answer to a question posed by Member of Parliament for Semporna, Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal (Warisan-Semporna), during the parliamentary session on Thursday.
Mohd Shafie requested the government to disclose the total number of hardcore poor in Malaysia and the eight districts in Sabah categorized as the poorest in Malaysia as of January 2024, compared to January 2023.
Furthermore, Mohd Shafie also asked the government to provide information on the initiatives and assistance provided to these districts, as well as the monitoring of programs implemented to ensure the success of lifting these groups out of extreme poverty.
