KOTA KINABALU: Rural Development Minister Datuk Radin Malleh has requested for more allocation from the federal and state governments to implement poverty eradication programmes and rural development projects.
Malleh said since his appointment as a minister after the May 5 general election he has been visiting Sabah’s rural areas and found many areas in dire need of basic infrastructure development, such as roads, electricity and treated water supplies.
While admitting the daunting task of transforming the rural areas, Radin said the government had implemented various rural development programs such as MESEJ in several rural districts with the participation of farmers and fishermen..
The MESEJ projects had greatly improved the well-beings of the rural folk and would also be extended to other areas, he said during a luncheon with members of the media at a leading hotel here yesterday.
Radin, who is also Melalap assemblyman, said his ministry would heed the recent advice of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to focus on the three trusts, namely security, poverty eradication and welfare of the masses in developing the rural areas.
Towards this end, he said the people still had the misconception that the task of the Rural Development Ministry was on eradication of poverty per se in the state.
“My ministry is also responsible for the development of infrastructure such as roads, water and electricity supply as well as other facilities for the people.
“It is not an easy task to develop Sabah in view of the vast area of the state, compared to the smaller states like Kedah and Perlis,” said Malleh in justifying his ministry’s requirement for more allocations from the central and state governments to implement development projects for the rural and remote areas.
“We are hoping for bigger allocations from the central government through the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development. We are also appealing for additional allocation from the state government,” he said.
Malleh also urged other relevant government departments to complement the ministry’s continuous efforts in developing the rural areas and alleviating the livelihood of the rural people.
“The rural people should not be left out from the mainstream of national development,” he added.