KOTA KINABALU: The Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry (KUSKOP) will implement the Ihsan KUSKOP programme to help eradicate poverty in Sabah, said its Minister, Datuk Ewon Benedick.
He said that through this programme, families living in poverty will be assisted through various entrepreneurial, cooperative and educational programmes to improve their quality of life and ultimately lift them out of the shackles of poverty.
He added that the proposal for the Ihsan KUSKOP programme has been presented and discussed at the ministry level and he will present the proposal to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim before launching the programme, expected in the second half of this year.
“For a start, we will launch it in three districts located in northern Sabah, namely Kudat, Kota Marudu and Kota Belud, which are pioneering districts for poverty eradication programmes at the ministry level. We also have foundations, universities and various other agencies under my purview that we will mobilise in this effort.
“We want these poor families or those in the B40 category to develop at least one family member into a small entrepreneur, small trader or business operator. We have financing agencies such as TEKUN Nasional, Amanah Ikhtiar and Bank Rakyat to assist them,” he said.
He told this to reporters after the Iftar ceremony with KUSKOP Agencies in Sabah here last night.
Ewon said that he and KUSKOP felt compelled to take on this responsibility because they wanted to be part of the solution to the poverty problem in Sabah and they didn’t want to be leaders who only knew how to talk.
“I don’t want to talk about why poverty in Sabah is so high without doing anything; I also urge fellow leaders in Sabah to collectively find solutions.
“There is no need for us to point fingers at who or what causes poverty and so on; let’s embrace the strengths we have and let’s all work together to solve the problems faced by our people,” he said.
To realise this ambition, he said all agencies under KUSKOP would be put under one synergy and action plan to ensure that efforts and initiatives under Ihsan KUSKOP run smoothly and have a profound impact on eradicating poverty in Sabah. – BERNAMA
