KOTA KINABALU: Ten villages in Sabah have been selected for the first phase of the Keluarga Malaysia Hardcore Poverty Eradication Programme (BMTKM) that will begin in May.

       Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said that the programme initiated by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) in the Prime Minister's Department will help to address abject poverty in Sabah.

       He thanked Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapha Mohamed for choosing Kampung Penimbawan in Sulaman as among the 10 villages in Sabah for the first phase of the programme.

       "As the elected representative of the constituency, I am grateful that Penimbawan has been chosen for this programme," he said.

       The Sulaman assemblyman said Penimbawan - a locality in his constituency - used to be a water village but he has taken the initiative with help from the Federal Government to relocate the houses to the mainland.

       The Chief Minister said this at the briefing of Kampung Penimbawan BMTKM at the district office here Saturday (April 30).

       At the briefing, Mustapha said that 23 hardcore poor household heads (KIRT) have been selected in Penimbawan.

       Under the programme, each of the KIRT will be given assistance tailored to their preferred profession.

       According to Mustapha, 20 more villages in Sabah will be selected for the BMTKM under the second and third phase this year.

       As of April 15, the EPU in the Prime Minister's Department listed down 196,640 family heads in Malaysia to be in the hardcore poor (KIRT) category.

       "The highest is Sarawak with 58,611 KIRT followed by Sabah with 31,598, 28,553 (Kelantan) and 15,964 in Kedah.

       "Under the initiative underlined in the federal 2022 Budget tabled by the Prime the Minister, the government wants to declare Malaysia as a zero-hardcore country by the end of 2025," he said.

       Mustapha said that the Federal Government aimed to implement the BMTKM in 1,000 localities in the country within the next three years.

       The KIRT in the hardcore poor category are those with a total household monthly income of below RM1,200.

       Besides Penimbawan, the other localities in Sabah chosen for the first phase of the BMTKM were Kampung Penangah in Tongod; Kampung Bongkol (Pitas); Kampung Sembirai (Kota Belud); Kampung Tandek (Kota Marudu); Kampung Pelakat (Sipitang); Kampung Binsulok (Beaufort); Kampung Tetabuan (Beluran); Kampung Kaingaran (Ranau); and Kampung Lima (Nabawan).