Kota Kinabalu: As of October this year, Sabah has recorded zero households categorised as hardcore poor in the eKasih system.
Sabah State Development Office Director Samsul Dollah said the figure, recorded since August 26, is dynamic in nature, with the 2022 Poverty Line Income (PGK) for hardcore poverty set at RM1,218.
“At present, there are no households in Sabah classified as hardcore poor.
“This category refers to households earning below RM1,218 per month, as outlined in the 2022 Hardcore Poverty PGK.
“However, the figure reported since August 26 is dynamic.
“In addition, this level of income is only sufficient to meet their daily food needs,” he said during a courtesy call Head of State Tun Musa Aman at Istana Seri Kinabalu, aimed at briefing him on the functions and responsibilities of the State Development Office, Thursday.
Samsul said there are currently 55,782 poor households involving 225,227 household members in Sabah, placing the State among the top three in Malaysia with the highest poverty rate.
“At the moment, there are 55,782 heads of households (KIR) in Sabah categorised as poor, meaning they have an income below RM2,742.
“This figure is also dynamic and may change according to ongoing registration updates,” he said.
To ensure no cases are overlooked, Samsul said his office emphasises continuous engagement with District Offices and local community leaders to verify and update the information of all households involved in their respective areas.
“In terms of data collection activities, our officers go to the field every day, including on weekends, to meet registered households face-to-face and to handle new registration applications.
“However, there are still some households that cannot be located, possibly due to their working hours.
“In such cases, we will seek assistance from the District Office or the Community Development Leader Unit (UPPM) to trace these households,” he added.
Samsul further explained that through the continued commitment of field officers, the eKasih system can be strengthened as an accurate, comprehensive and fair social database to ensure that no family in need is left out from receiving aid.
“The main task of our field officers is to continuously conduct on-site data collection activities.
“They will meet registered families face-to-face to update any changes in information and also register new families into the eKasih system.
“This process continues throughout the year to ensure that any family truly in need does not miss out on assistance.
“Verification visits will be conducted for every new application we receive from District Offices after the District-Level Focus Group Meeting.
“Only eligible households verified through the meeting will then be referred to us for field verification. After that, all validated data will be keyed into the eKasih system,” he said.
