MINISTRY FORMS POVERTY ERADICATION FOCUS GROUP

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 14 (Bernama) -- The Rural and Regional Development Ministry
will set up poverty eradication focus group at the district level to ensure
poverty eradication programmes and assistance reach the target group.

Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal said the focus group would comprise district
officers, members of parliament, assemblymen as well as officers from relevant
departments.

"There are cases where the poor have not been able to enjoy the facility
provided for them.

"For instance, a district may have been allocated with 10 units of houses
for the poor but there maybe more than 10 families who should be receiving the
assistance," he told reporters after delivering his New Year 2010 message to the
staff of the ministry, here.

It was for this reason that apart from district officers, the focus group
would also comprise MPs and assemblymen as they knew the requirements of the
people in their areas, he said.

He said the ministry would monitor the focus group to ensure they were not
used by certain quarters to serve their political agenda.

Mohd Shafie also called on Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) to set up more
technical colleges to create more skill workers among the locals.

Mara, a trust fund, should rise and not too dependent on the government, he
said.

It should be brave in exploring new fields and implementing corporatisation
on some of its activities such as premises management and debt collection so
that it could increase its revenue, he added.
-- BERNAMA