Absence of poverty line hampering eradication efforts

Rabiatul Kamit
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

OCTOBER 17 marks the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, promoting awareness of the need to combat poverty and destitution worldwide.

Poverty often conjures images of starving children suffering from diseases in developing countries and homeless beggars heckling passersby for money. Although such extremes are far removed from Brunei, the fight against poverty in the tiny, oil-rich nation exists.

“The common perception of Brunei is that there is no poverty,” said Ustazah Hjh Rose Abdullah during a recent public talk on poverty in Muslim countries, where she presented the findings of her study on poverty-stricken Kg Ayer residents in the Sultanate’s capital.

Although poverty and destitution is not rampant, the senior lecturer from Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA) said there is relative poverty in Brunei. Relative poverty measures the minimum income needed to maintain the average standard of living in an individual country.

The average income per household in Brunei ranges from $3,640 to $4,661, according to the Household Expenditure Survey last conducted in 2005. Low income groups, earning less than $1,500 per household, accounted for 15 per cent of the population (60,000 people).

However, Ustazah Hjh Rose pointed out there were varying statistics as the different welfare bodies in the country use their own definition of poverty. For example, a study commissioned by the government in 2011 found 27,360 people from 5,472 families were living in poverty.

Meanwhile, data from the Community Development Department (JAPEM) and Brunei Islamic Religious Council (MUIB) places the number of people facing poverty at 20,790 in 2012. Latest figures showed 5,386 people – identified as fakir (destitute) and miskin (poor) – received the zakat (tithe) this year.

The senior lecturer stressed the need for an official poverty threshold that will determine number of people living in poverty in the Sultanate to ensure that no one is overlooked.

She believed the absence of a poverty line is hampering Brunei’s efforts to eradicate poverty.

Besides financial assistance, recipients of welfare benefits are provided with incentives, such as the micro-credit financing scheme as well as skills training and empowerment programmes, aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty.

Ustazah Hjh Rose also noted that local NGOs, including the Social Welfare Council (MKM) and KatakIjau Humanitarian Relief Support Group, play an active role in cooperating with the government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam’s vision of zero poverty by 2035.

Brunei is scheduled to observe the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty for the third time at a later date.


Sumber - The Brunei Times