SEVEN localities in Kedah and three in Perlis have been chosen for the implementation of the Malaysian Family Hardcore Poor Eradication Programme scheduled to start at the end of this month.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Mustapa Mohamed said the localities in Kedah comprise three villages in five districts while in Perlis, three villages in three districts.

“The programme is part of objectives outlined in the 12th Malaysia Plan, which is to eradicate hardcore poverty throughout the country by the end of 2025.

“So today, according to eKasih data from the Implementation Coordination Unit, there are 180,009 hardcore poor families nationwide and 12,000 are in Kedah,” he said.

Mustapa said 80 localities throughout the country have been identified for phase one of the programme, which would be implemented holistically involving the target groups regardless of race, religion and political leanings.

He said the programme also adopted a bottom-up approach that involved the participation of the grassroots and target groups in the designing of the programme that provides solutions on poverty eradication in a targeted manner and is different for each locality according to the needs of the area.

Mustapa said the identified hardcore poor will be given specific assistance that will be proposed by local community leaders and after that they will be monitored to ensure that the assistance given is utilised appropriately.

“This is not a new programme, this hardcore poverty eradication programme has been around for a long time, but the difference now is that we are integrated and holistic, involving the state and federal governments, community leaders as well as universities.

“We are both implementing this programme with the hope that it will be successful, we want this programme to have continuity so that the hardcore poor come out of the hardcore poor group,” he said. – Bernama, May 26, 2022.