Sabah recorded a sharp reduction in the number of hardcore poor households, with official figures showing an 89.9% drop over the past year. 

Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department, Datuk Abidin Madingkir, told the Sabah State Assembly that the number of hardcore poor households registered in the e-Kasih database fell from 14,553 in February 2024 to just 1,464 in February this year.

He attributed the drop to ongoing targeted assistance under the state’s Program Sentuhan Kasih Rakyat (SYUKUR), coupled with improved coordination and verification through the state’s digital aid systems.

“This reduction reflects the dynamic nature of our data, where household incomes, demographic changes, and aid interventions influence classification” 

“But it also signals the positive impact of our poverty eradication efforts,” he said during the question and answer session in the state legislative assembly on Tuesday. 

He noted that data changes may also result from factors such as updated family profiles, migration, or deaths. However, the government views the decline as an encouraging sign.

Under the SYUKUR programme, the state has allocated RM358.4 million to provide RM300 monthly to 100,000 poor and hardcore poor recipients in Sabah. Aid is disbursed in four quarterly lump sums, with the first phase of payments having begun in February.

As of April 1, 68,238 recipients had received their payments, while 3,822 applicants were still undergoing data verification.

For those excluded from the federal e-Kasih system, the state introduced its own digital platform — PADANS — and received over 270,000 applications by the end of March. 

The state also deployed 85 MySMJ Profilers to district offices to process and verify new applicants.

The state is also rolling out other poverty reduction initiatives, including housing, education and employment programmes. 

Among them are the construction of 3,000 Rumah Mesra SMJ units, over RM75.5 million in education aid for students, and new job opportunities coordinated with private-sector investors such as Kibing Group and Sawit Kinabalu.

Madingkir said the government remains committed to ensuring that recipients remain above the poverty line through long-term monitoring, impact assessment, and cross-agency collaboration. – April 15, 2025