KUCHING, Dec 30: Padawan Municipal Council (MPP)’s House for the Poor Programme has won the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Malaysia Sustainable Development Award 2020 for the Goal 1 – No Poverty category.
MPP chairman Lo Khere Chiang revealed that 114 houses have benefitted from the programme since 2016 with each house allocated a maximum of RM15,000 for house repairs.
“The goal of the programme is to ensure that the basic needs of the poor, that is their houses are safe and comfortable to live in.
“Repairs include replacement of roofs, ceilings, walls, floors, windows, stairs and toilets or sanitisation,” he said in a press release today.
The Programme, under the Eradicating Poverty Programme, was initiated by the Federal Ministry of Housing and Local Government in 2016 with the purpose to improve the well being of the poor by repairing their houses that were in poor condition.
“The funding for this programme is from the federal ministry whereas MPP is the implementer.
“The programme was one of the goals under the 10th and 11th Malaysia Plan of reducing incidences of poverty in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 2030 (SDG 2030) initiative,” he added.
As the Programme will continue in 2021, Lo encouraged those in need of assistance to submit their applications to MPP.
Among the criteria for applications to note include the head of the household must be registered in e-Kasih with the District Office Kuching, the income bracket must be below the poverty line index, stay in MPP’s areas of jurisdiction, houses are in poor condition but habitable and economical to repair and own their own land or house or consent must be obtained if the place they live in does not belong to them.
Forms can be obtained from MPP and more information on the programme can be obtained by contacting the Valuation and Rating Division at 082-615566.
The State government, Lo emphasised also supplemented and implemented house repairs initiatives for the poor through the Minor Rural Project since 2018.
“All Sarawak State Legislative Assembly members under the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) are allocated state funding of RM1 million a year to repair houses for the poor.
“The local communities and the poor can seek assistance from their local state assembly representatives or from ADUN Service Centre for assistance,” he said.
Meanwhile, JCI Malaysia Sustainable Development Award (SDA) 2020 is an unprecedented opportunity for companies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to align their sustainability goals to shine a spotlight on the ways their companies and organisations are leading the world to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to make the world more prosperous, inclusive, sustainable and resilient.
JCI Malaysia is a national organisation affiliated to Junior Chamber International (JCI), a worldwide leadership development organisation for young people that empowers young people to create positive change. JCI Malaysia inspires young people to recognise their responsibilities to create a better world and empower them to drive change. – DayakDaily
