Sabah assistant minister invites Rafizi to work together on poverty eradication

A SABAH assistant minister has invited Federal Economic Minister Rafizi Ramli to work together to overcome poverty in the state. 

Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said Sabah has identified rural tourism as a key component of Sabah’s poverty-eradication initiatives and expressed his eagerness to share the state's plans with Rafizi. 

“I believe it's crucial to involve the Federal Ministry of Economy in our endeavours as this will help them understand better how they can support Sabah's journey out of poverty.

"We firmly believe that tourism is a cornerstone in empowering rural communities and fostering economic growth.

“As most rural folks are farmers, we also see great potential in translating agricultural activities into agro-tourism experiences," he said in Kota Kinabalu today.

Joniston who is also Sabah Tourism Board chairman said this given the federal minister’s parliamentary assertion on March 14 that the hardcore poverty rate in Sabah was 1.2%, which was higher than the national rate of 0.2%. 

Rafizi said the Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2022 report showed that eight Sabah districts had a higher rate than the national one, with Tongod recording the highest at 5.9%. 

This is followed by Beluran (5%), Pitas (4.8%), Kinabatangan (4.6%), Kota Marudu (4%) , Tuaran (2.6%), Ranau (2.4%) and Lahad Datu (2.4%). 

Joniston said Sabah Tourism Board has catalogued 133 rural tourism products from community-based tourism, homestays and privately owned ventures in the eight mentioned districts. 

The districts are Tongod (6 products), Beluran (2), Pitas (5), Kinabatangan (6), Kota Marudu (20), Tuaran (38), Ranau (35), and Lahad Datu (12). 

Joniston said two more districts should be included as they face problems namely, Nabawan (3 products) and Telupid (6), which he revealed were also in the Statistics Department Poverty Index 2022 Report list. – The Vibes, March 29, 2024