As Sarawak
enters the 21st Century, eradicating poverty within the state
continues to be an on-going issue. Needless to say, numerous efforts have been
made by the government to ensure that the quality of life for the Sarawakian people
improves, especially for those living in rural areas.
A particularly good example of this is
reflected in the Sejahtera Task Force (STF). Headed by Y.B. Datin Hajah Fatimah
Abdullah, Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Human Resource and
Training) and Assistant Minister of Agriculture (Home Economic and Training),
the STF is a multi-agency programme, involving the Sarawak Department of
Agriculture, the Ministry of Modernisation of Agriculture Sarawak (MOMA), WEDA,
the Department of Education, the Medical and Health Services Department,
Yayasan Sarawak, Yayasan Kemajuan Insan (YAKIN), the State Planning Unit (SPU)
and the State Development Office (SDO).
The STF was
founded in 2005 as part of the government’s plan to tackle the livelihood-related
problems that were faced by those living within the central region of Sarawak.
Its pilot programme (STF I) was launched in October 2005 in Kampung Penipah,
Pulau Bruit, Daro, proving to be a great success as the 20 households that were
involved in the programme increased their monthly income whilst most of the
children aged under 7 years old from these households reached their targeted
normal weight as well as decreasing their levels of malnutrition. Also, there
were no primary school student dropouts for the duration of STF I. As a result,
the Sarawak government subsequently agreed that the programme should be
continued in Kampung Penipah and be carried out in Kampung Penibong and Kampung
Penuai in Pulau Bruit and Kampung Sg. Kut Muara and Kampung Sg. Kut Tengah,
Dalat.
This led towards the launching of STF II at Kampung Sg. Kut Muara,
Dalat on 6 November 2006 by Y.B. Datin Hajah Fatimah Abdullah. Accompanying Y.B. Datin Hajah Fatimah Abdullah were officers from the
aforementioned government departments, including Datu Jaul Samion, Permanent
Secretary of MOMA, district officers of Dalat and staff members of the Eastern
Times-FAX Fly Care Programme, Kuching
Specialist Hospital, Marriot Hotel and Spa, Miri and the Sarah John Foundation,
Australia.
STF II’s focus, which is the same as STF I, is as follows:
- To train and help the hardcore poor to increase their monthly income
by teaching them about income generating skills- To increase the awareness of health and to decrease the malnutrition
levels of children aged below 7 years old- To ensure that there are no student dropouts amongst children aged 7
and above
STF II’s programme included 25 households that had 31 malnourished
children whom were selected from Kampung Sg. Kut Muara (out of a total of 208 households
and a population of 1,255 people) and Kampung Sg. Kut Tengah (out of a total of
62 households and a population of 436 people). To note, the monthly income of
these households range from RM 250-1,500 with a per-capita income ranging from
RM 35.71-180.
By comparison, the poverty index line for rural areas in Sarawak is
RM 753 for a household with 4.2 members with a per-capita income of RM 179.30
Typically, the heads of these households work as labourers, scalers, drivers,
loggers, farmers and mechanics, with their levels of education ranging between
nothing and Primary 6.
During the launching of STF II, food baskets and food packages that
were donated by the Marriot Hotel and Spa, Miri, Kuching Specialist Hospital
and the SDO were distributed to the participating households. Eastern Times
Sdn. Bhd. also donated copies of the Eastern Times whilst the Sarah John
Foundation donated 40 boxes of ‘Reliv Now’, this being a children’s nutritional
product.
Most importantly, Y.B. Datin
Hajah Fatimah Abdullah’s opening speech stressed the fact that STF I would not have been a success if the
participants themselves were not thinking positively and being open-minded
towards the changes that were required in order to increase their levels of
income, health and education. Indeed, even if the government were to provide as
much financial aid and manpower as possible towards helping these people
eradicate poverty from their lives, it would be impossible to do if they were
unwilling to take the necessary steps as part of improving their livelihoods.
Let us hope that STF II becomes as successful, if not even more so
than STF I, as the path towards eradicating poverty continues.
Acknowledgment and thanks to Y.B. Datin Hajah Fatimah Abdullah,
Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Human Resource and
Training), Assistant Minister of Agriculture (Home Economic and Training) and
Chairperson of the Sejahtera Task Force
