MELAKA: Melaka achieved zero hardcore poverty status in December last year, in line with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s aspiration to eradicate the group.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh said that the achievement was based on the total household income for each family in the state, which on average is above the set poverty line.

“If there are two or three children, in a household earning more than RM1,500, then they no longer belong to the hardcore poverty category.

“Apart from that, as Melaka has a stable government, 30 per cent of the total one million population find employment in the industrial sector in this state,” he said in a video recording here today.

Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, yesterday was reported to have said that efforts to eradicate hardcore poverty in Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan have reached 100 per cent status.

He was quoted as saying that efforts to eradicate hardcore poverty do not only involve the majority (Malays), but also involve other races like Indians, Chinese and others. - Bernama