Poverty: Najib’s spin a ‘double insult’ to Sabahans

The federal government should step up its poverty-eradication programme in Sabah instead of spinning 'glowing statistics', says a SAPP leader.

TAWAU: Telling Sabahans that their state is “no longer the poorest in Malaysia” is like selling ice to Eskimos and is a clear indication of the desperation behind the declaration by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

Prevalent poverty is a fact in Sabah and the World Bank 2010 Malaysian Economic Monitor (MEM) report confirmed this, much to the chagrin of the state which had rebutted the findings, claiming it was a “gross misinterpretation”.

But the truth remains that escalating cost of living and food prices had made Sabahans “poor”.

Declaring Najib’s statement – made during a visit to the state last week – as a “double insult” to Sabahans, Tawau MP Chua Boon Soi said that the measurement of poverty should not be solely based on the average per capita income.

“This is especially so when the gap between the rich and the poor has greatly widened in recent years in Sabah,” she said, adding that the Prime Minister’s Department should give details of the Poverty Line Income in Sabah in comparison to other states.

She said that with the escalating cost of living and food prices, the Poverty Line Income in Sabah of RM1,048 (Sarawak is RM912 and Peninsular Malaysia RM763) should be reviewed as even the average people in Sabah have been struggling to make ends meet almost daily.

Chua, who is also a vice-president of Sabah Progressive Peoples Party (SAPP), contended that since the government has conducted a survey through BR1M (Bantuan Rakyat Malaysia) registration, it should not be a problem for the authorities to gather sufficient statistics to reveal the true picture.

With the reported 400,000 cases of BR1M approved in Sabah, it is estimated from the total households of 621,500 (2009 report), 64% of Sabah households earned less than RM3,000 and about 100,000 households earned less than RM1,000 (2010 report), which is below the Poverty Line Income, she said.

“It is therefore a miracle that Sabah, being the ‘poorest state’ as reported in the World Bank report (2010), suddenly finds that many poor families had disappeared.

“It is very unfair to paint a rosy picture to hide the reality of the suffering of the poor families. Do we need another World Bank report to confirm this?” she asked.

Chua wants the federal government to step up its poverty-eradication programme instead of presenting glowing statistics.

While agreeing with Najib’s statement that Sabah has huge potential with all its natural resources, Chua regretted that it had not benefited the people of Sabah, as highlighted by the Sabah Oil and Gas Contractors Association (Sogca).

Sogca has recently stated that Sabah companies were being ignored in the award of contracts.

A large portion of Sabah’s wealth has long been taken over by the federal government, largely through a 1976 oil and gas agreement that handed over 95% of the commodity to Petronas and a cabotage policy which has contributed to the high cost of living in Sabah.