Move to eradicate poverty

from The Malaysian Star

ALOR STAR: Kedah will set up a special panel that will plan pro-grammes to eradicate poverty in the state.

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mahd-zir Khalid said yesterday the panel would include academician, businessmen and non-governmental organisations.

He said the panel would find new and modern ways to era-dicate poverty in rural and town areas.

“Eradicating poverty does not mean building new houses or providing cows for the poor to rear. We need to train and guide them to survive economically.

“The panel will be set up before end of next month,” he said after chairing the state exco meeting.

Mahdzir said the panel would study each poverty case and plan a suitable programme to help the families improve their livelihood.

On another issue, Mahdzir said the state had no objections to the formation of the Northern Corridor Implementing Agency (NCIA).

He said the draft of the bill to form NCIA had been tabled to him by the Prime Minister’s special adviser on the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) Datuk Mohd Annuar Zaini yesterday.

“We do not have any objection to the bill since it does not take away the state power in NCER,” he said.