SIBU: The federal government should focus on solving the problem of dilapidated schools in Sarawak under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP).
Assistant Minister of Education, Science and Technological Research Dr Annuar Rapaee said this during a press conference via Zoom. He was commenting on the 12MP which was presented by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Monday.
According to him, so far there are 1,020 dilapidated schools in the state.
Dr Annuar, who is also Assistant Minister of Local Government and Housing, said that almost half of these schools had been repaired by using the RM1 billion funds from the state and federal governments.
“Rebuilding and repairing of these dilapidated schools will probably be accelerated if they are emphasised in the 12MP,” he pointed out.
On measures to eradicate the hardcore poor, the Nangka assemblyman suggested that the government should adopt a multidimensional poverty index (MDPI) methodology, which had a more holistic approach.
“If we want to look at poverty, we have to look at it in a multidimensional way. That is why the poverty eradication methodology of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is based on the MDPI.
“The MDPI sees poverty not only through income. There are 10 indicators to look out for, including child mortality and nutrition, under the key dimensions of health.
“So, poverty is not measured solely based on income. This is a very comprehensive index to look at poverty and I think we should move to MDPI instead of assessing poverty only through income levels,” he said.
