Impossible to have missed poverty family: PKR
Published on: Saturday, June 04, 2011
Kota Kinabalu: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) KK Division said it is just as shocked as the Prime Minister's wife to read about a single parent family with three young kids living in deplorable conditions at Kg Kandawayon, Matunggong, in the Kota Marudu parliamentary constituency.Widow Rosnia @ Annie Marambal, 36, and her three children, Flora Tai Chong, 14, Norhayati Maratim, 11, and Frederik, 9, are reportedly living in squalor. The family is said to cook their food under the shack and eat and sleep at the same spot.Its Chief, Christina Liew questioned what had happened to the poverty eradication programme under the e-kasih system for which the Federal Government purportedly allocated millions in ringgit to Sabah.
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"Apparently, part of the money has not filtered down to the hardcore poor. The figures released by the Sabah State Government just months ago claimed that the poverty rate has been reduced."However, it simply does not tally with the real life situation as evidenced by the continued existence of dilapidated homes in rural areas," she said in a statement, Friday. The Prime Minister's wife, Datin Rosmah, expressed shock upon learning about the family and immediately raised money to be channeled through the Girl Guides. Liew said on the ground, the reality is that life for the ordinary folks remains the same as poverty has become a norm rather than an exception. "Abject poverty brings negative consequences. Education has become the lesser priority for them coupled with poor diet or malnourishment for the children. Child marriage becomes inevitable for girls who drop out from school while youths are exploited while seeking jobs in big cities like Kuala Lumpur and Singapore," she said.
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Liew stressed that it is the Government's duty to put in place long-term economic plans for the poor villagers so that they can survive. She also noted that recently a man lost his life when the makeshift trolley he depended on like many others to get to his home collided with a train.
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"This man who lost his life happens to be an Umno member and yet hundreds of millions were spent on improving the Sabah railway. Where did all this money go to that a life of a breadwinner ended up being sacrificed," she said.She said the Assemblyman concerned should take full responsibility to see that aid from the Public Welfare Services Department is made available to needy families."I urge the YB and authorities concerned not to be selective when giving out welfare assistance as poverty has no boundaries," she said.Meanwhile, PKR KK division will mobilise its welfare arm, the Society of Hope Kota Kinabalu, to immediately organise a fund-raising event to alleviate the plight of the family.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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