The Impact of Government-Sponsored Poverty Eradication Programmes in Lundu District, Kuching Division, Sarawak

Transcription

1 The Impact of Government-Sponsored Poverty Eradication Programmes in Lundu District, Kuching Division, Sarawak STEPHANIE LIM YUAN JIUN A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Sciences Faculty of Social Sciences UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK i

2 AUTHOR S DECLARATION I declare that the work in this thesis was carried out in accordance with the regulations of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. It is original and is the result of my work, unless otherwise indicated or acknowledged as referenced work. This thesis has not been submitted at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak or to any other academic institution or non-academic institution for any other degree or qualification. Name of Student : Stephanie Lim Yuan Jiun Student ID No : Programme Degree Faculty Thesis Title : Degree of Master of Social Sciences : Faculty of Social Sciences : The Impact of Government-Sponsored Poverty Eradication Programmes in Lundu District, Kuching Division, Sarawak Signature of Student : Date : ii

3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express my profound gratitude to Dr Wong Swee Kiong and Assoc. Prof. Dr Gusni Saat, my research supervisors, for their patient guidance, enthusiastic encouragement and useful critiques of this research work. Their willingness to give their time so generously is very much appreciated. My grateful thanks are also extended to Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) for the financial support of Vice-Chancellor Zamalah Research Award (Zamalah Penyelidikan Naib Canselor (ZPNC)). I would also like to thank all the respondents in this study as well as officers from relevant agencies. These include Lundu District Office, Sematan Fishermen Association, Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia, Department of Social Welfare Sarawak, Lundu Department of Social Welfare, Department of Agriculture Sarawak, Lundu Department of Agriculture, State Planning Unit and Prime Minister Department, without them this thesis would not have been possible. Last but not least, I wish to thank my friends and family members for their moral supports and encouragement throughout my study. iii

4 ABSTRACT Lundu, the study area of this study, shows a continuous increase in the number of hardcore poor even though various types of government-sponsored poverty eradication programmes have been implemented. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of government sponsored poverty eradication programmes in Lundu in terms of income, house conditions, health, and literacy status. This study also aims to access the process of implementing government-sponsored poverty eradication programmes in Lundu. Out of 2,961 total population, 150 heads of the households were selected as respondents by using a stratified random sampling technique. Face-to-face interviews with the respondents as well as with the officers-in-charge from the relevant department were carried out to collect the data and related to poverty eradication programmes in this study. The result shows a failure of policy and practice in the government-sponsored poverty eradication programmes. This is because the implementation of this government-sponsored poverty eradication programmes were short term in nature and creating spoon-fed dependent rural poor rather than emphasizing on empowerment when assisting the poor. Policy makers should emphasise on enhancing the knowledge of the poor in basic financial management and acquaint them with relevant skills which are related to their economic activities. This is to ensure that the poor are able to experience capital expansion and achieve self-sustainability as well as independence instead of depending on the assistances given by the government which only provide them with short term relief. iv

5 ABSTRAK Lundu, kawasan kajian ini telah menunjukkan peningkatan bilangan miskin tegar yang secara berterusan tahun demi tahun walaupun pelbagai program pembasmian kemiskinan telah dilaksanakan oleh kerajaan. Objektif kajian ini adalah untuk mengenal pasti impak program pembasmian kemiskinan yang dilaksanakan oleh kerajaan di Lundu dari segi pendapatan, keadaan rumah, tahap kesihatan dan status literasi penerima pelbagai jenis bantuan daripada kerajaan. Kajian ini juga bertujuan untuk mengkaji proses pelaksanaann bantuanbantuan yang telah disediakan oleh kerajaan. Sebanyak 150 responden daripada jumlah populasi seramai 2,961 penerima pelbagai jenis bantuan kerajaan telah dipilih sebagai sampel kajian ini melalui kaedah persampelan rawak berstrata. Segala sumber maklumat dalam kajian ini baik sumber primer daripada temubual secara bersemuka dengan responden dan pegawai-pegawai daripada agensi-agensi kerajaan yang terlibat dalam usaha pembasmian kemiskinan di Lundu mahupun sumber sekunder yang diperolehi daripada jabatan yang berkenaan akan digunakan untuk analisis kajian ini. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa terdapat kegagalan polisi dan strategi dalam program pembasmian kemiskinan yang ditajakan oleh pihak kerajaan Malaysia. Puncanya adalah disebabkan oleh pelaksanaan program pembasmian kemiskian yang dilaksana oleh kerajaan hanya berbentuk jangka pendek dan membentuk golongan miskin yang bergantung sepenuhnya ( spoon-fed ) kepada kerajaan. Pembuat dasar harus menekankan kepada peningkatan pengetahuan kemahiran pengurusan kewangan dan menyediakan golongan miskin kemahiran yang berkenaan dengan aktiviti ekonomi yang dijalankan oleh mereka. Ini adalah untuk memastikan bahawa golongan miskin dapat mencapai perkembangan kapital serta dapat berdikari demi mencapai kemampanan tanpa bergantung sepenuhnya kepada bantuan kerajaan yang hanya membawa kelegaan jangka pendek. v

6 TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages AUTHOR S DECLARATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ABSTRACT ABSTRAK LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ii iv v vi viii x xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 An Overview 1.2 Research Setting 1.3 Problem Statement 1.4 Research Objectives 1.5 Significance of the Study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Economic Growth & Poverty 2.2 Malaysia Poverty Line Income (PLI) 2.3 Indicator of Poverty 2.4 Affirmative Action in Reducing Poverty 2.5 Limitation of Affirmative Action Programme 2.6 The Challenges CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Population & Sample 3.3 Survey Instrument 3.4 Data Collection 3.5 Data Analysis iii

7 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Introduction 4.2 The Implementation Process of Poverty Eradication Programmes 4.3 The Demography Characteristic of the Respondents 4.4 Beneficiaries Agency Relations 4.5 The Impact of Government- Sponsored Poverty Eradication Programmes in Lundu The Impact on Household Monthly Income Impact of Income Generating Assistances & Welfare Assistances on Household Income 4.6 The Impact on the Expenditure 4.7 The Impact on the Housing Condition Types of Income Generating Assistance & Its Impact on housing conditions Types of Welfare Assistance &Its Impact on housing conditions 4.8 Health Condition of the Respondents 4.9 The Impact of Government- Sponsored Poverty Eradication Programmes on the Literacy of the Respondents CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 Summary 5.2 Conclusion 5.3 Policy Implication 5.4 Limitation of the Study 5.5 Recommendation for Future Study REFERENCES APPENDIX A APPENDIX B APPENDIX C INTERVIEW SCHEDULE FOR RESPONDENTS POVERTY STATISTIC PICTURE TAKEN DURING THE SURVEY vii

8 LIST OF TABLES Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Status of ekasih applicants in Lundu from December 2011 to May 2014 Poverty Line Income 2012 (Ringgit Malaysia per Month) Low Income Groups and their Monthly Household Income in 2010 Number of Sample Selected by using Stratified Random Sampling Method Income Generating Assistance in Lundu Welfare Assistance in Lundu Demographic Information of the Respondents Types of Assistance Received by the Respondents of the various Poverty Eradication Programmes Income Generating Assistances and Impact on Household Income The Impact of Poverty Eradication Programmes on Household Monthly Income Comparison of Average Monthly Household Income of Respondents Before and After Received Income Generating Assistance Comparison of Monthly Household Income of the Respondents of Welfare Assistance Comparison of Monthly Household Expenditure of Respondents Before and After Receiving the Assistances. Expenditure before/after Received Income Generating Assistances viii

9 Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Expenditure before/after Received Welfare Assistances The Impact on the Housing Condition of the Respondents Types of Income Generating Assistance and Its Impact on the Housing condition Types of Welfare Assistance and Its Impact of Housing Condition The Impact on Assets Ownership of the Respondents Comparison of Types of Poverty Eradication programmes on Asset Ownership of the Respondents The Health Condition of the Respondents Frequency of the Respondents to go for Hospital Treatment per Year The Impact of Poverty Eradication Programmes on Education Status of the Respondents The Literacy Status of the Respondents in Lundu The Impact on the Literacy Status and Education Status of the Respondents ix

10 LIST OF FIGURE Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Poverty Statistics by District in Kuching Division from 2009 to 2012 Trajectory of ekasih in Lundu Sources of Information Gathered through Data Triangulation Method Implementation Process of 1AZAM and Housing Assistance Programme Implementation Process in Department of Social Welfare Implementation Process in Fisheries Authority Development (LKIM) Types of Assistance by Working Status Distribution of Respondents by Types of Assistance and Work Sector Distribution of Respondents by Types of Assistance based on Primary Occupation Distribution of Respondents by Types of Assistance based on Secondary Occupation Distribution of Respondents by Monthly Household Income and Types of Assistance Distribution of Respondents by Types of Assistance and House Ownership Distribution of Respondents by Types of Assistance and Number of School-going Children Numbers of Years Respondents Receiving Government-Sponsored Assistance Waiting Time for Delivery of the Assistance among the Respondents x

11 Figure Ways Respondents Know About the Assistance 61 Figure Percentage of Respondents Facing Problem 65 when Applying for Assistance Figure Types of Problem Faced after Receiving the 68 Assistance by the Respondents Figure Respondents Perception on the Assistance Received 70 xi

12 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 1AZAM AIM ADB ASB-PBRT BA BIRM BKK BOT BRAC BTB BPT CCT CGAP DOA DOF EPC EPU FA FELCRA FELDA GDP GNI Akhiri Zaman Miskin Amanah Ikthiar Malaysia Asian Development Bank Amanah Saham National Berhad-Development Programmes for the Poorest Bantuan Am (General Assistance) Banci Isi Rumah Miskin (Poor Household Survey) Bantuan Kanak-Kanak (Children Financial Assistance) Bantuan Orang Tua (Senior Citizen Assistance) Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee Bantuan Orang Kurang Upaya (OKU) yang Tidak Berupaya Bekerja (Financial Assistance for Disabled who are Unable to Work) Bantuan Penjagaan Orang Kurang Upaya (OKU) Terlantar/ Pesakit Kronik Terlantar (Financial Assistance for Chronic Bedridden Patients/Bedridden Disabled Patient) Conditional Cash Transfer Consultative Group to Assist the Poor Department of Agriculture Department of Fisheries Elaun Pekerja Cacat (Incentive Allowance for Disabled Workers) Economic Planning Unit Fishermen Association Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority Federal Land Development Authority Gross Domestic Product Gross National Income xii

13 GTP HADP IADPs ICT ICU ILO IMF IRDP JKM JPKDL JTK KKLW LKIM MDGs MFO NCR NDP NEP NGOs NKRAs NREP OECD PBRT PPRT Government Transformation Programmes Hill Area Development Programmes Integrated Agricultural Development Projects Information and Communication Technology Implementation and Coordination Unit International Labour Organization International Monetary Fund Integrated Rural Development Programmes Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat (Department of Social Welfare) Jawatankuasa Pembasmian Kemiskinan Daerah Lundu (Lundu Poverty Eradication Committee) Jabatan Tenaga Kerja (Department of Labour) Kementerian Kemajuan Luar Bandar dan Wilayah (Ministry of Rural and Regional Development) Lembaga Kemajuan Ikan Malaysia (Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia) Millennium Development Goals Microfinance Organization Native Customary Rights New Development Policy New Economic Policy Non Government Organizations National Key Result Areas National Rural Employment Programmes Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Program Bantuan Rumah Termiskin (Housing Assistance Programme) Program Pembangunan Rakyat Termiskin (Development Programmes for the Poorest) xiii

14 PEMANDU PLI PLKK PPMI PPP SBPKP SBEU SDO SERU SEDC SNEP SPKR SPSS SPU UFLP UNESCO UNCSD UNIVAC UNFPA UNDP Performance Management and Delivery Unit Poverty Line Income Program Latihan Kemahiran dan Kerjaya (Skills Training and Career Programme) Program Pembangunan Minda Insan (Mindset Development Programme) Program Peningkatan Pendapatan (Income Increment Programme) Skim Baja Padi Kerajaan Persekutuan (Federal Government Paddy Fertilizer Scheme) Sarawak Bank Employees Union State Development Office Social Science and Economic Research Unit Sarawak Economic Development Corporation Skim Pinjaman Nelayan Pantai (Costal Fishermen Loan Scheme) Skim Pembangunan Kesejahteraan Rakyat (Citizens' Welfare Development Scheme Programme) Statistical Package for Social Sciences State Planning Unit Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC) Functional Literacy Programme United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Universal Automatic Computer United Nations Fund for Population Activities United Nation Development Programmes xiv

15 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 An Overview Poverty is a threat that can bring adverse effects to the society and people. As Hulme (2010, p.6) once said Extreme poverty obstructs human flourishing: it means that people are hungry and live in pain and anguish; it stops children from being educated; it means that people cannot develop their cognitive and physical capabilities; it allows others to exploit the labour and the body of the poor; and it makes poor people feel shame and indignity for conditions they cannot control. Thus, it is clear that poverty is a threat to the poor as it prohibits them from receiving education, an important element for human capital formation, and a crucial element for a country s social-political and economic development. Poverty may also lead to social exclusion. Social exclusion is a situation whereby an individual or group are wholly or partially excluded from full participation in the society in which they live due to poverty, lack of the basic competencies and learning opportunities throughout their life or as a result of discrimination (Moisa, 2011). This has become a threat to the society as social exclusion will lead to apathy, extremism, disenchantment and inequality among people (Mat Zin, 2009, p. 10). Hence, this can result in conflict which can affect the peace of a country. This is supported by Brain (2009) who stated that poverty is the seed of conflict whereby people will react negatively to show their grievances and discontent. It has also been proven that, poverty, more than any other factor, contributes to the feelings of alienation, exploitation, and dependency. These feelings in turn contribute to a breakdown of social cohesion and a move towards violent conflict (Atwood, 2003). 1

16 Poverty can also lead to global terrorism. Research has shown that countries with low income, low production efficiency, low life expectancy, as well as high male youth bulge are more likely to experience political violence, including terrorism (Rice, 2006). This is also supported by Piazze (2011) who stated that the poor economic status of specific groups within the population, rather than the overall economic climate, is a crucial element in fuelling terrorist group recruitment and activities. This is because global terrorist networks may take this opportunity to use legitimate and illegitimate charities to garner popular support, especially from the specific groups with poor economic status within the weakened state (Rice, 2006). This is an unfavourable condition for a country because the involvement of global terrorists will cause violent conflict between the state and the people. Such activity reinforces poverty. Poverty is a failure in development. According to Sen (1999, p.3), development requires the removal of major sources of unfreedom: poverty as well as tyranny, poor economic opportunities as well as intolerance or over activity of repressive states (Sen, 1999, p.3). Therefore, poverty eradication programmes play a significant role to not only eradicate the poverty but also help the country to achieve a balanced socio economic development. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have emerged as the world's time-bound and quantified targets for addressing extreme poverty in its many dimensions (United Nations Malaysia, 2009). Eradicating extreme hunger and poor have been set as the first out of the eight goals in MDGs. In 2000, at the United Nations Millennium Summit, 189 world leaders adopted the Millennium Declaration and agreed to collective commitments to overcome poverty through a set of eight mutually reinforcing interrelated time-bound goals (MDGs) with related targets (UNDP, n.d). Apart from the MDGs, other organisations such as International Labor Organization (ILO), World Bank as well as the International Monetary 2

17 Fund (IMF) are also concerned with the issue of poverty eradication by providing different kinds of assistance to the needy. The ethnic riot that happened in Malaysia on the 13 th of May 1969 is a good example. This riot happened due to the income inequality within each of the major ethnic groups in Peninsular Malaysia. Poverty eradication programmes have shown significant impact in tackling these sorts of issues. The Malaysian government has implemented the New Economic Policy (NEP) as a strategy to eradicate poverty and restructure economy in order to achieve national unity and nation building. This shows that poverty eradication programmes which are tied with growth enhancement policies have become important in national economic and social policy especially in countries that suffer from population pressures and deteriorating living and economic conditions (Van de Hoeven and Shorrocks, 2003, p. 172). In addition, Vision 2020 which was introduced in 1991 by the former Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Dr. Mahathir Bin Mohammad also identified fair and equitable distribution of the wealth of the nation as one of the goals to make Malaysia a fully developed country by Apart from that, different types of government sponsored poverty eradication programmes have also been implemented, including the New Economic Policy (NEP) and the 10 th Malaysia Plan to eradicate poverty in Malaysia. Non government organisations (NGOs) have also implemented various initiatives to assist the poor in Malaysia. It is therefore clear that poverty eradication programmes play a significant role to ensure the inclusion of the poor in economic growth activities and government development agenda in order to achieve a balanced social economic development. 3

18 Malaysian government has successfully decreased the number of poor households from 49.3% in 1970 to 1.7% in 2012 after implementing various types of poverty eradication programmes (Malaysian Government, 2013). However, there is still a high rate of poverty in some parts of Malaysia such as Sabah and Sarawak (Gomez et al., 2013, p.17; EPU, 2011; Aeria, 2013, p.121). The poor or the indigenous communities in Sabah and Sarawak are usually less accessible and may not be amenable to conventional poverty reduction programmes (UNDP and EPU, 2005). The indigenous communities, who are living in rural areas which are frequently located rather far away from town, usually do not have access to proper road systems which can connect their villages to the nearest towns. Gomez et al. (2013, p.10) also stated that infrastructural support is not present in the rural regions, including those in Sabah and Sarawak because of the spatial disparities. As a result, the rural communities are isolated from the society and unable to seek channel to assist them. In many cases, the poverty eradication programmes are formulated and implemented based on generalised concepts of the causes of poverty (Burma et al., 2006). The federal policies and poverty eradication programmes are conceptualised and designed based on the poverty situation in Peninsular Malaysia (Burma et al., 2006). They may neglect the actual causes of poverty based on local context. This is especially true in a multi-ethnic society in which different ethnic groups face different causes of poverty (Burma et al., 2006). Consequently, the well-being of the poor are unable to be improved drastically, as the needs of the poor are often addressed with handouts by bureaucratic agencies rather than tailored to the wants and needs of the poor (Varman et. al, 2012 cited in Blocker et. al, 2012). Gomez et al. (2013, p.17) also mentioned that the Indian and the other ethnic groups in Sabah and Sarawak are 4

19 sometimes excluded from enjoying benefits gained from the implementation of poverty eradication programmes by the government, so are the Orang Asli where poverty rates measure up to 50%. Furthermore, the poor are often identified based on the information collected through open registration using structured questionnaires rather than using participatory approach (Burma et al., 2006). Poor Household Survey (Banci Isi Rumah Miskin (BIRM)) is used in Malaysia to gather socio-economic information from the applicants of poverty eradication programmes through face to face interview. In this situation, the actual living condition of the applicants and their needs may not be captured during the interviews. As a result, the assistances given by the government may not help the poor to meet their actual and immediate needs. For instance, new houses with either two or three bedrooms given under the Housing Support Programme (PBRT) in the Ninth Malaysia Plan ( ) do not take into consideration the size of the poor families. In some cases, houses with only two or three bedrooms are unable to accommodate the entire extended family members who are staying together under one roof (Burma et al., 2006). According to Rusalina (2013, p.265), the PBRT also does not take into account the lifestyle needs of the Orang Asli as the houses provided are designed with zinc roof which gets very hot easily and it does not allow for space to have home gardens. Due to these factors, the poverty eradication programmes are said to fail to improve the standards of living of the poor. In fact, in some cases, they have worsened the condition of the poor. 5

20 1.2 Research Setting Sarawak is considered as one of the poorest states in East Malaysia. Like other states throughout the whole Malaysia, various types of poverty eradication programmes have been implemented by the Malaysian government in Sarawak. Sarawak is divided into eleven divisions, namely; Kuching, Kota Samarahan, Sri Aman, Betong, Sarikei, Sibu, Mukah, Bintulu, Kapit, Miri, and Limbang. Kuching is the capital of Sarawak. There are three districts in Kuching division: Bau, Lundu and Kuching districts. Among these three districts, Lundu has the second highest poverty rate in Kuching division. Lundu is situated in the southwestern part of Kuching and is bordered by West Kalimantan, Indonesia and covers an area of 1,962.2 square kilometres (Lundu District Council, 2014). Lundu District has 114 villages and a population of 35,000 (Lundu District Office, 2014). The largest ethnic group in Lundu district is Bidayuh which includes Bidayuh Jagoi, Selako and Lara (Lundu District Office, 2014). The ethnic distribution in Lundu is 45% Bidayuh, 28% Malay, 15% Iban, 10% Chinese, and 2% other ethnic groups (Lundu District Office, 2014). Even though Lundu is a small district in Kuching division, most of its villages are equipped with public utilities (water and electricity supply), infrastructure (road, jetty and bridge) and facilities (school, stadium, hospital and community hall). Lundu is also a tourist attraction destination because of its natural beauty. Tourist spots in Lundu include Gunung Gading National Park, Jangkar Waterfall, Sarawak Bank Employees Union (SBEU) Retreat Resort, Siar Beach Resort, Ocean Beach Resort, Pandan Beach as well as Haji Bujang homestay. 6

21 In terms of socio-economic activities, 80% of the villagers in Lundu are involved in agricultural related activities such as paddy cultivation, cocoa planting, pepper planting, fruits planting as well as oil palm planting. Meanwhile, the villagers who stay along the coastal area work as fishermen (Lundu District Council, 2014). 1.3 Problem Statement Lundu, the study area of this study, has implemented various types of government-sponsored poverty eradication programmes to assist the needy. One of the government-sponsored poverty eradication programmes in Lundu is 1Akhiri Zaman Miskin (1AZAM) programme. This programme was introduced in the beginning of 2010 to help improve the income among the poor and hardcore poor living below the poverty line by giving them more job opportunities. Housing Assistance Programme (PBRT) has also been implemented in Lundu district, in order to improve the standard of living of the hardcore poor by providing them with a more comfortable, higher quality and safe residence. In addition, Department of Agriculture (DOA) Sarawak, with the mission to commercialise and modernise the agriculture sector in order to improve the incomes of the agricultural communities (Department of Agriculture Sarawak, 2013), has provided paddy scheme assistance for the paddy cultivators in Lundu as well. The Department of Social Welfare (JKM) has the mission to provide quality welfare services for the needy group of people by providing monthly monetary assistances to the disadvantaged groups in Lundu like single mothers, the disabled and the senior citizens. Apart from that, the Sematan Fishermen Association has also provided both monetary and non monetary assistances like cost of living allowance, petrol subsidies and Coasted Fishermen Loan Scheme to the fishermen to uplift their economic and social well being. 7

22 However, Lundu has an increasing number of hardcore poor as compared to other districts in Kuching division. Figure1.3.1 shows that the number of poor in Lundu has increased drastically from 2009 to 2012 as compared to other districts in Kuching division. Besides that, Lundu was the district with the lowest poverty rate in 2009 but it had become the district with the second highest poverty rate in Not only that, based on the ekasih system, a centralised National Poverty Data Bank that stores information related to poverty and helps the government in planning, implementing and monitoring the poverty eradication programmes, it shows that the number of hardcore poor had increased from 160 persons in December 2011 to 370 persons in April 2012 and further increased to 468 persons in Mei 2014 (Lundu District Office, 2014). Furthermore, the overall figures of the hardcore poor in Lundu had continuously increased from 318 in May 2013 to 512 in October 2013, although the targeted number of hardcore poor in November 2013 was expected to be zero (Figure 1.3.2). The question now is to what extent has poverty eradication programme improved the socio-economic well-being of the target beneficiaries in Lundu? Table 1.3.1: Status of ekasih applicants in Lundu from December 2011 to May 2012 Status/ Date Dec 2011 Jan 2012 Feb 2012 March 2012 April 2012 Hardcore poor Poor Vulnerable Out of Poverty Total 2,243 2,246 2,298 2,318 2,316 Source: Lundu District Office,

23 Figure 1.3.1: Poverty Statistics by District in Kuching Division from 2009 to 2012 Source: Implementation Coordination unit, Prime Minister Department, 2012 *Sasaran MT Initial Target for Hardcore Poor Pencapaian MT Keseluruhan Actual Hardcore Poor Status Pencapaian Locked In Locked in Achievement Figure Trajectory of ekasih in Lundu Source: Lundu District Office,

24 1.4 Research Objectives The general objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of poverty eradication programmes implemented by the government in Lundu, Kuching, Sarawak. The specific objectives of the study are as follows: 1. To assess the process of implementing government-sponsored poverty eradication programmes in Lundu district, Kuching, Sarawak; and 2. To analyse their impact in terms of income, housing conditions, health and literacy status of the project beneficiaries in Lundu district, Kuching, Sarawak. The focus of this study is specifically on the poverty eradication programmes that have been implemented by the government in Lundu district. Income, health, housing conditions and literacy rate are chosen as the indicators of this study because the poor are often deprived of education, health, infrastructure, accommodation, housing environment and household economic status. Hence, the changes in the income, health, housing conditions and literacy among the recipients are significant as indicators to evaluate the impact of poverty eradication programmes. This study does not identify other impact of the poverty eradication programmes such as the impact of poverty eradication programmes on social relationship or politics. 10