SIPITANG, Sabah will increase the construction of Rumah Mesra Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) homes to 40 units for each State Legislative Assembly from next year. The move is to help the poor who cannot afford to own their own homes, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor. He said the increase, up from 20 units per state assembly annually, will involve the construction of some 3,000 home units statewide next year as an effort to provide people experiencing poverty with more comfortable housing assistance. "This is because we know many more are homeless, and we must uplift them. We will work on 3,000 houses next year, especially for those in the hardcore poverty category. "The opposition (state) government previously did not implement initiatives aimed at uplifting the people because they were more focused on finding fault with the previous government and leaders," he said at the opening of the Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat) Sindumin Division annual meeting here today. The Rumah Mesra SMJ initiati ve was launched by Hajiji on Sept 28, 2022 to provide affordable homes worth RM80,000 for free, to poor people in the rural areas of 73 state assembly constituencies in Sabah. Hajiji said the move and other initiatives related to human capital development were introduced under the GRS-PH Plus state government leadership. "The initiatives implemented for the people's benefit is in line with the continuous efforts of the state government to uplift the people and bring development to the state," he said. Meanwhile, Hajiji also expressed confidence in Sipitang's potential to become a developed district based on its strategic position near Sarawak, Brunei and Labuan. "The people of Sipitang will also feel the economic spillover and job opportunities through the opening of factories and businesses in the Sipitang Oil and Gas Industrial Park (SOGIP)," he said. Source: BERNAMA News Agency