KOTA KINABALU – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has given the country’s civil service and citizens the lofty challenge of helping him to eliminate poverty across Malaysia.
“No matter what, we have to save the poorest people in the country. This issue must be solved this year. The whole country must come together to it,” he said.
He said that the move must start with alleviating 130,000 people categorised as hardcore poor, noting that a large number of them are in Sabah.
Anwar said this in his speech at a ceremony to meet with federal and Sabah civil servants at the Sabah International Convention Centre here today.
Budget 2023 which was tabled last Friday by Anwar, who is also finance minister, includes the government’s initiatives to assist the 130,000 people by providing immediate assistance and taking steps to ensure they no longer remain in that category.
RM750 million has been allocated to Economy Ministry to carry out the Peoples’ Income Initiative programmes for this purpose.
“I have mentioned in Budget 2023 about eradicating hardcore poverty. This is not new, but it is not solved to date.
“Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg have both agreed to contribute strengths to solve this together,” he said.
Earlier, Anwar expressed confidence that Sabah can rise above its potential if all civil servants work together and eliminate corruption.
“I believe that Sabah can be lifted in Malaysia, and all corrupt practices stopped.
“If we have a big contract worth tens of billions, we should negotiate and save RM2 billion,” he said as an example.
He quipped that RM1 billion is lost when RM10 billion is allocated.
“How can we protect the interests of the people (with this corrupt practice)? It is impossible,” he said, adding that integrity is the key to developing the nation.
Strengthen downstream oil and gas industry
There are 20,804 officials in Sabah’s government civil workforce, and 108,251 federal civil servants working in Sabah.
Anwar said all civil servants should do their jobs entrusted to them sincerely, with dedication, and eradicate corrupt practices
“I want the country to change the ‘map’ of our politics and economy – civil servants as the backbone to make a change,” he said.
He also assured that after solving several issues relating to the Malaysia Agreement 1963, the federal government is still working to restore Sabah’s rights.
He said the federal government is allowing Sabah to take control of its development projects that are below RM50 million so the state government can manage its own development.
He also said that he had met with Petronas representatives yesterday to discuss the oil and gas sector in Sabah, hoping that the downstream industry of the sector can be developed in the region.
“I told them (Petronas), I want there to be a downstream industry (in Sabah), get local youths with calibre and expertise in the downstream industry involved so that they can enjoy the revenue from oil and gas,” he said.
He said there are still a lot of issues such as poverty, and water and electricity supply that must be solved, and it will need cooperation between the state and federal governments.
He hopes that politics in Sabah will remain steady so that the government’s development plans and policies can be implemented to protect Sabahans’ interests. – The Vibes, February 28, 2023
