Rural Residents’ Perceptions on the Poverty Alleviation and Governance in Sarawak, Malaysia

Authors

  • Peter Aning Tedong Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment, University of Malaya, Malaysia
  • Zafirah Al Sadat Zyed Department of Real Estate, Faculty of Built Environment, University of Malaya, Malaysia
  • Rohana Jani Ungku Aziz Centre for Development Studies, Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya, Malaysia
  • Fathin Amelina Fazlie Institute of Advanced Studies, University of Malaya, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33736/ijbs.4831.2022

Keywords:

Rural poverty, poverty alleviation, governance, Iban community, Sarawak

Abstract

Poverty alleviation has continuously become one of the main concerns of the socio-economic policy worldwide. This crucial phenomenon is bounded on necessity toward monetary and comprehends by social, economic, political, and physiological aspects. In Malaysia, although the New Economic Policy in 1971 has succeeded in reducing the country's poverty incident, poverty's pocket continues to exist with high incidences of poverty among specific ethnic groups and localities. For instance, rural poverty among the Iban community in Sarawak has occurred since Malaysian independence. Therefore, this paper examines the rural residents' perceptions of the State's role in poverty alleviation in Sarawak using a qualitative approach. Findings revealed that although the government has various programs to alleviate poverty, the social assistance related to poverty was not efficiently distributed in Sarawak's rural areas. This study also revealed that a lack of social infrastructures, such as road accessibility, has significantly influenced social assistance's efficiency distribution in rural areas.

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Published

2022-08-08

How to Cite

Peter Aning Tedong, Zafirah Al Sadat Zyed, Rohana Jani, & Fathin Amelina Fazlie. (2022). Rural Residents’ Perceptions on the Poverty Alleviation and Governance in Sarawak, Malaysia. International Journal of Business and Society, 23(2), 649–664. https://doi.org/10.33736/ijbs.4831.2022