Kota Marudu is not the poorest district in Sabah, says Ongkili

 By Olivia Miwil - April 5, 2021 @ 1:44pm

Kota Marudu is not the poorest district in Sabah, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili. - Picture courtesy Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili

KOTA MARUDU: Kota Marudu is not the poorest district in Sabah, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili.

He said the economy in the lowland areas of Kota Marudu was actually strong.

"The district has more than 20,000 hectares of oil palm, second largest paddy growing district in Sabah and some 10,000 hectares of rubber plantations.

"The local economy is stronger than other districts, and there has been a lot of development over the decades here and people do feel the progress," he said during the welcoming dinner for members of the Kota Marudu Level for Sabah Poverty Data Verification Programme here yesterday.

Last year, the Statistics Department indicated that the national poverty rate stood at 5.6 per cent while in Sabah, it was 19.5 per cent.

In Sabah, the districts with the highest poverty rates were Tongod, Pitas and Kota Marudu.

Ongkili, who is also the member of parliament for Kota Marudu, added that efforts are ongoing to correct the perception of Sabah being one of the poorest states in Malaysia.

A data collection programme is being done by his department to get the right input for the national database on poverty.

The survey begins in Kota Marudu as the district was named as one of the poorest in the state.

The three-day programme aims at collecting data as well as educating and guiding local community leaders on how to disseminate information on government aid, especially to reduce the poverty rate.

"A group is going to Kampung Gana first before moving to other places to gather data, and any information gathered would be able to give input to the Government."