Sarifuddin: Emulate China in ending poverty
Published on: Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Jonathan Nicholas
Sarifuddin said he observed three strategies which Sabah could bring into practice. - Pic (right) is for illustration only.
Kota Kinabalu: Merotai (Warisan) Assemblyman Sarifuddin Hata told the State Government to emulate China in ending poverty.
“In the 90s, 750 million or two thirds of the Chinese were living in poverty. Interestingly, in 2012 there was a drastic decline to only 90 million.
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“We should study the formula used leading to the 30-year achievement,” he said at the State Assembly on Tuesday.
Sarifuddin said he observed three strategies which Sabah could bring into practice.
They are agricultural development, social economic policies that empower education and good social governance that is transparent.
“These strategies are more local-oriented focusing on poor villages. Teams involved in the poverty eradication network are mobilised to each locality and cooperate with the local community to facilitate poverty management.
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“The time has come for us to learn and implement what China has done. We have a lot of fertile land enough for us to hold poverty eradication programmes,” he said.
However, in unison with other assemblymen he said the efforts must be preceded by providing basic infrastructure facilities such as road networks, water and electricity supply.
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“If this cannot be provided, we will face difficulties to succeed in poverty alleviation programmes,” he said.
He asked how much gold has been processed by Wullersdorf Sdn Bhd mine in Bukit Mantri, Tawau and how much was sold?
He felt the State Government had lost control of the gold royalty revenue claiming that the mine had been operating illegally with an expired Operational Mining Scheme (OMS) licence for six month since 1 November 2023.
“Although the State Government through the Land and Survey Department makes excuses regarding authority, according to the law, without an OMS licence the mine owner cannot buy or sell minerals.
“In addition, the Department of Minerals and Geosciences (DMG) will not issue transport licences for gold minerals to buyers,” he said.
The gold royalty collected by the State Government is based on the sale and purchase report from the DMG.
He argued that every sale must obtain an approval beforehand to ensure that the gold is not sold below the world gold market price and to avoid fraudulent payment of royalties to the State Government.
“What is the amount of gold royalties successfully collected by the State Government from 1 November 2023?”
“I am concerned about leakages in the royalty payments because there is a possibility of the gold’s value being under declared,” he said.
In February, Customs seized 110kg of gold bars estimated to worth RM30 million at the Tawau Airport. Several individuals were arrested but the gold was ultimately returned to its owner.
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