By Nur Ashikin Louis
KOTA SAMARAHAN, April 29: Sarawak will conduct an independent survey to put the poverty rate in the region in the right perspective.
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg did not deny that hardcore poor still exist in Sarawak, but he stressed that poverty must be measured holistically with the inclusion of fixed assets.
“In Sarawak, Alhamdulillah, our people have assets like land but are also categorised as poor. In terms of assets, they have the land but lack the knowledge to monetise it.
“Thus, the study must be correct, and we want to see whether the area or the community is really ‘poor’ or not,” he told reporters after visiting N17 Stakan’s Aidilfitri open house at Stakan Constituency Service Centre here today.
He further cited the infamous report of the Pakan district being labelled as “the poorest” in Malaysia when the people of Pakan could afford cars due to the good market price of pepper and good produce from their land.
He believed that instead of being poor in wealth, perhaps it is their lack of knowledge in monetising their assets into cash.
“Thus, regarding poverty, I have discussed with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli that we must carry out a holistic study.
“If the people are categorised as poor, they must be listed in e-kasih. However, if they have assets, they must be excluded from e-kasih.
“If we want to measure poverty, we must conduct an impartial and professional study,” he added.
Abang Johari also mentioned that the survey would be conducted by Sarawak Economic Planning Unit (EPU), with the results expected to assist the government in formulating a policy to eradicate poverty.
“The survey must be in-depth, professional and impartial. It will give us a view of what we should do in that situation.
“If not, the people would say Sarawak is a rich region, but the people are poor (sic), and this is because of a wrong methodology. This means people will think we (the Sarawak government) are not doing anything,” he continued.
He said that the survey results would be ready by this year, adding that the enumerators must gather correct information from the ground and not depend on statistics.
Amongst those present were Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, Stakan assemblyman-cum-host of the open house Datuk Hamzah Brahim, Puncak Borneo MP Datuk Willie Mongin, Tupong assemblyman-cum-chief political secretary Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman, Batu Kitang assemblyman Lo Khere Chiang, Serembu assemblyman Miro Simuh and Machan assemblyman Allan Siden Gramong. — DayakDaily
