TUARAN: Ten villages in Sabah have been selected for the first phase of the Keluarga Malaysia Hardcore Poor Eradication Programme (BMTKM) that will begin in May.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor believed the programme initiated by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) in the Prime Minister's Department will help to address the abject poverty issue in Sabah.
He thanked Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapha Mohamed for choosing Kampung Penimbawan in Sulaman as among the 10 villages in Sabah for the first phase of the programme.
"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, a locality in his constituency, used to be a water village but he has taken the initiative with help from Federal to relocate the houses to dry land.
The Chief Minister said this at the briefing of Kampung Penimbawan BMTKM at the District Office here today.
At the briefing Mustapha told Hajiji that 23 hardcore poor household heads (KIRT) have been selected in Penimbawan.
Under the BMTKM, each of the KIRT will be given assistance tailored to their preferred profession.
In Penimbawan, most of the participants have chosen to continue as fishermen while some wanted to venture into the Madu Kelulut (stingless bee honey), chicken and duck rearing as well as a sundry shop operator as their profession.
According to Mustapha, 20 more villages in Sabah will be selected for the BMTKM under the second and third phases this year.
As of April 15, the EPU in the Prime Minister's Department has listed 196,640 family heads in Malaysia to be in the hardcore poor (KIRT) category.
