‘We need more funds to deal with poverty in Kelantan, Sarawak’

Sivarasa Rasiah and other PKR members at the Subang division AGM.

SUNGAI BULOH: Deputy Rural and Regional Development Minister Sivarasa Rasiah is hoping for a higher budget allocation to deal with the 25 poorest districts in the country, with Kelantan being the poorest in the peninsula.

He said some of these villages had no clean water and have an intermittent power supply.

“In some districts, hundreds of villages depend on water from the hills,” he told FMT, on the sidelines of the Subang PKR division annual general meeting.

Sivarasa, who heads the Subang division, said the majority of those listed under the poorest states are Malays, and are in dire need of proper infrastructure and the right skills to increase their income.

Malaysia is divided into 200 districts, he said. Seven districts in Kelantan, two in Kedah, one in Pahang, five in Sabah and 10 in Sarawak are listed as the poorest.

Sivarasa said due to that, his ministry hoped to get a higher allocation than last year’s RM4.1 billion as there is also “a lot of work to be done in Sabah and Sarawak too”.

“There is a huge infrastructure gap in these poor districts. They need decent roads, power supply, jobs and good broadband.”

He said the government also wants to offer income-generating programmes, such as entrepreneurial skills, to set up business and help them with getting equipment for their business.

“But we will not give them cash. We’ll instead give them the things they need to progress,” he said.

PKR will be a party for all Malaysians

Deputy Dewan Rakyat speaker Mohd Rashid Hasnon told FMT that PKR, being a multiracial party, will not sideline any race and will diffuse any situation linked to race.

He said the party will continue to look at improving the quality of life for Malaysians through needs-based policies despite growing sentiments within Malays on race and religion.

“We will continue to respect the need for unity through shared prosperity,” the Batu Pahat PKR chief said when opening the AGM.

Rashid said Parliament will also play a bigger role in organising international conventions linked to poverty, education, child rights, human rights, corruption and sustainable environment.

“These inputs are given to researchers at Parliament and will be further distributed to the parliamentary select committees and relevant ministries to deliberate on.”

Rashid said these are being carried out under the Parliamentary Services Act 1993.

“During the BN era, only one convention was held every year. Now, we have held three so far and are hoping to organise more next year.” - FMT