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TUARAN: The Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) Secretariat has been given the been given the responsibility to reduce the poverty rate, especially involving the hardcore poverty in the state, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.

He said under the SMJ Secretariat, various efforts and initiatives were carried out including providing 1,500 houses for those unable to own a home, providing business capital assistance, and providing job opportunities for the state's children.

"The state government has instructed every government-linked company (GLC) as well as new investors coming to Sabah, that they must provide job opportunities for those listed in the eKasih system," he told reporters after the Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat) Sulaman division buka puasa event at the Bajau Sama Cultural Centre, Lok Batik here Saturday.

Hajiji, who is also the Gagasan Rakyat president, said this in commenting on the statement by Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli on Thursday in a question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat that hardcore poverty in Sabah stands at a rate of 1.2 per cent in contrast to the national rate of 0.2 per cent.