Mesej yet to attain goals, says report
Published on: Saturday, January 05, 2019
Kota Kinabalu: The Mini Estet Sejahtera (Mesej) programme for oil palm plantation in the State had yet to achieve its objectives, according to the recently tabled Auditor-General's Report 2017 Series 2.It was found that there is a lack of the provision of housing and basic infrastructure and there is only a small involvement of participants for matured fields.Apart from that, there are still participants who earn income below the Poverty Income Line (PLI) even though they had joined the programme between three and eight years.
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The audit conducted between June and August, last year, also found that the programme management for oil palm plantation is inefficient, in terms of participant selection, settlement and monitoring.The programme had been initiated by the State Government in 2006 under the 9th Malaysia Plan as one of the four components in the Poverty Eradication Programme under the responsibility of the State Rural Development Ministry.It aimed to improve the income and the living quality of the hardcore poor sustainably.Mesej focussed on hardcore poor who registered under e-Kasih and priorities were given to locals in Mesej districts.
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It involved a development of at least a 100-hectare of government land gazetted under the Section 28 of the State Land Ordinance and titles were not issued to the participants.There are three components – economy, physical and human capital, under Mesej.
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The economic component encompassed oil palm-based agricultural activities, involving a 98-hectare of government land, while the physical portion covered the development of a 20-hectare of Sejahtera Community Settlement (PMS), including providing houses and basic infrastructure like roads, water and power supply.The human capital component involved the participation of 33 settlers in each Mesej programme area.The State Rural Development Ministry has appointed the Sabah Land Development Board (SLDB) as the implementing agency to supervise land development works and to assist the operation and administration of Mesej.As of 2017, there are 19 Mesej for oil palm plantation developed in 10 districts, covering a land area of 1,692.16 hectares with the involvement of 193 participants.The districts involved were Keningau, Nabawan, Beaufort, Sipitang, Pitas, Ranau, Sebatik, Kinabatangan, Kunak and Semporna.The selection was conducted by the respective District Office or District/Municipal Council. Those selected will work on the fields and generate an estimated monthly income of RM920 through salary, wage and allowance.Apart from that, each participant was also provided with a monthly dividend of RM300.Overall, the Audit found several weaknesses in the implementation of activities, in terms of planning, implementation and monitoring.Among the main contributing factors were a lack of an effective monitoring mechanism to ensure the enforcement of law and regulations, as well as non-existent effective monitoring on works carried out by subordinates.Should these weaknesses are not given serious attention to, the Report stated that they could affect the achievement of programme objectives as well as the reputation of the State Government and the public service.Towards this end, the relevant State departments or agencies were recommended to not only take actions upon receiving a reprimand from the Audit, but also act swiftly as soon as a problem is identified.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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