hi(TUARAN: The State Government remains committed to empowering women and housewives in various aspects, including economic, social and leadership development, to ensure they continue to play an important role in Sabah’s development.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji Haji Noor said he appreciated the role and contributions of women, particularly those in the Sulaman constituency.
“Every year, I allocate RM500,000 for women in my Sulaman constituency, including for kitchen utensil assistance programmes.
“Likewise, I allocate RM500,000 each annually for our young men and women in Sulaman. These allocations are meant to support programmes for women and youth in the Sulaman constituency,” he said.
He said this at the presentation of kitchen utensils to housewives in the Sulaman State constituency at the Rumpun Bajau Samah Cultural Centre in Kampung Lok Batik here today.
At the event, organised by the Sulaman Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (PGRS) Women’s Wing in collaboration with the Tuaran District Office, a total of 1,000 housewives received the kitchen utensils assistance.
Hajiji, who is also the Sulaman Assemblyman, acknowledged that the strong support he received from women voters had been among the contributing factors to his success in representing the constituency for nine terms since 1990.
“I have never forgotten the role of women. They make up half of the voters in Sulaman,” he said.
He stressed the importance of empowering women throughout Sabah, adding that the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) State Government had introduced various programmes, including assistance under the Sentuhan Kasih Rakyat (SYUKUR) programme, to ease the financial burden of the B40 group, low-income families and housewives.
“For example, in Tuaran, of the approximately 10,000 SYUKUR recipients, more than 3,000 are from Sulaman.
“Last year, SYUKUR assistance amounted to RM300 a month, with eligible women among the beneficiaries. This is our responsibility as the State Government, to continuously ensure the wellbeing of the people,” he said.
Hajiji said one of the most important components of the Sabah Maju Jaya development roadmap was the people’s wellbeing.
Towards this end, the State Government has provided RM200 in monthly assistance to 140,000 underprivileged people this year, he said.
“This has never been implemented before. Only the government that I lead, GRS and our component parties, has implemented such an initiative.
“We have implemented numerous initiatives. When we talk about welfare, previously only slightly more than 20,000 people received assistance from the Welfare Department.
“Now, within five years, we have increased that number to nearly 70,000 recipients every month.
“That is the guiding principle of my Hala Tuju in reaching out to the people and ensuring their wellbeing,” he said.
He also urged the entire GRS leadership to prioritise the party’s struggle.
“As the backbone of the government, we must strengthen GRS, and GRS must continue to lead the Sabah State Government, not only now but also after the State Legislative Assembly election four years from now,” he said.
He also expressed his appreciation to the organising chairperson, Datuk Jamaliah Antalip, for her strong commitment to ensuring the success of the kitchen utensils assistance programme in the Sulaman constituency.
