KOTA KINABALU – Telecommunication problems and the spread of Covid-19 are among the main reasons why the percentage of Sabah’s population counted under the census is still low compared with other states in the peninsula, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup.
He said only 20% of Sabah’s more than 3.9 million residents had been counted as of Monday compared with Johor at 61.8%, Perak (58.5%), Kelantan (55%) and Putrajaya (99.4%).
“The figure (20%) does not mean that the enumerators are not doing their job well. I understand they have constraints...we are facing problems with the infrastructure and telecommunication networks causing a very low response rate for the online census.
“Coupled with the pandemic, we have been facing constraints since last year...but I believe the number will increase when the face-to-face census is implemented when cases subside,” he said here today.
Arthur said a total of 163 ethnic groups in Sabah including Samar Layun, Tagalog, and Bisaya would be involved in the 2020 census compared with 17 ethnic groups in the 2010 census. – Bernama, April 7, 2021
