Mustapa Calls For Sustainable Approach To Poverty Eradication In Labuan 

LABUAN, June 13 (Bernama) -- Poverty eradication efforts in Labuan must go beyond financial assistance and focus on empowering people to generate sustainable income and improve their quality of life, said former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy), Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

He said a multidimensional approach is vital in efforts to eradicate hardcore poverty, taking into account not only income levels but also access to skills, education, healthcare, housing and sustainable livelihood opportunities.

Mustapa said poverty eradication programmes must move beyond short-term assistance and focus on empowering participants to generate stable income and improve their quality of life.

He said this in his keynote address when officiating the closing of the Labuan Hardcore Poverty Eradication Programme: Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Measurement, jointly organised by the Ungku Aziz Centre for Development Studies (UAC), Universiti Malaya and Universiti Malaysia Sabah Labuan International Campus (UMSKAL), here today.

“Hardcore poverty cannot be addressed through financial aid alone … it requires structured intervention, continuous monitoring and strong cooperation among universities, government agencies and the local community,” he said.

Mustapa said the Labuan hardcore poverty eradication initiative, which began in September 2023 and runs until December 2025, has provided an important platform to profile participants, strengthen their business skills and support income-generating activities.

He said the programme, previously known as Basmi Miskin Tegar Keluarga Malaysia (BMTKM) before being rebranded as IPR-BMT under the People’s Income Initiative, was implemented in two phases involving selected communities across the island.

The first phase involved 44 participants who received business equipment assistance and embarked on income-generating activities to improve their household income, while the second phase involved 20 participants, with profiling carried out to identify their needs and potential areas of support.

Mustapa said the programme also exposed participants to online business platform development courses and skills training to strengthen their human capital and help them adapt to the changing business environment.

He also commended UMSKAL for its role in the programme and said the involvement of various government agencies reflected a strong whole-of-government approach.

Also present were UMSKAL director Prof Ts Dr Shamsul Bahari Shamsudin, Labuan Faculty of International Finance deputy dean for academic and international affairs Dr Ricky Chia, and UAC director Datin Sri Prof Dr Suhaiza Hanim Dato’ Mohamad Zailani.

-- BERNAMA