THE second phase of the Keluarga Malaysia hardcore poverty eradication programme (BMTKM) will begin in the middle of this month and will involve 110 localities nationwide, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Mustapa Mohamed said.

He said the participation of the heads of about 10,000 hardcore poor households was an initiative by the government to eradicate extreme poverty among Malaysians under the 12th Malaysia Plan.

“The experience gained from implementing Phase 1 of BMTKM will be used to improve every aspect to ensure its implementation achieves the stipulated objectives.

“We welcome more active involvement from the private sector, including government-linked companies and government-linked investment companies, especially through their corporate social responsibility initiatives,” he told reporters after visiting and holding a joint dialogue session with the Kuala Lah Orang Asli in Gua Musang, today.

Mustapa said the government was always committed to tackling poverty and inequality through inclusive community development and ensuring that efforts to bridge the development gap between regions and states can be achieved.

“Based on the national poverty databank statistics, a total of 130,709 hardcore poor households have been identified nationwide as of September 15 this year.

“As such, the government urges all parties to come forward to jointly achieve this goal by adopting a nationwide approach that will be implemented in phases over a period of three years and six months,” he said.

Meanwhile, on the visit and dialogue session, Mustapa said two projects in the locality had been approved for implementation involving 35 hardcore poor households, with the cost amounting to RM415,995.

“The two projects are the planting of lemongrass and ginger as well as oyster mushroom. All the participants have signed a declaration to commit to utilising the aid given,” he said.

He said that, as of now, the implementation of Phase 1 of BMTKM encompasses 70 localities nationwide, with the involvement of 1,536 households at a cost of about RM17.2 million. – Bernama, October 1, 2022.