HELPING HAND: Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and his wife Jeanne visiting an 80-year-old villager whose house was renovated by the government as part of a scheme to help the poor. -- ST PHOTO: ASHLEIGH SIM

'Eradicating destitution has always been a promise of the government and we hope we will achieve this aim in 2010,' he told reporters during a press conference in his home constituency of Kepala Batas in Penang.

'At the same time, we will also lower the level of relative poverty in other groups.'

Yesterday marked yet another day of campaigning where bread- and-butter matters took centre stage.

With economic issues such as rising prices and poverty a key concern of voters this time around, the ruling party has been going all out to address their woes, including a media blitz advertising the amount of subsidies it is dishing out.

Datuk Seri Abdullah, accompanied by his wife Jeanne Abdullah, spent the morning yesterday visiting some of the poorest villages in his home state.

He dropped in on several houses which were recently renovated by the government after they had fallen into a state of disrepair.

One wooden house in the village of Kampung Lahar Minyak, a 45-minute drive from the main island of Penang, had its leaky roof repaired, toilet renovated and even a room added. Not counting the land around it, the house was approximately the size of a three-room HDB flat.

Its sole occupant, 80-year-old Madam Puteh Said, said work had been completed just weeks ago.

She said in Malay: 'I am very happy with the work. I do not have a lot of money. I get a little bit from friends and a bit from my two sons to survive.'

The repairs to houses like hers, said Datuk Seri Abdullah, were just one example of the efforts the government had made to help the poor.

He revealed that the government had set aside RM590 million (S$260 million) just for programmes to help the poor around the country.

'In the Kepala Batas area alone, we know there are 165 families with dilapidated homes. Work has been completed on more than 100,' he said.

Datuk Seri Abdullah also spent time on the stump yesterday focusing on another big election issue: education.

In between visiting villages, he stopped to have lunch with some 800 teachers from all over his constituency.

He thanked them for their work, and said they played an important role in developing Malaysia's 'human capital'.

In a speech, he said: 'Our young, our people, all of them are our assets, the capital of Malaysia. This is what will lead to the development of the country in the future.

'So I am sure the programmes that we introduce to improve our schools will get the support of the teachers.'

Immediately after lunch, he held a 10-minute press conference during which he tackled questions on the strategies adopted by the opposition apart from talking about the economy.

He lauded figures released by Bank Negara on Wednesday which showed that the Malaysian economy grew by 7.3 per cent in the last quarter of 2007, saying that this was proof of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government's ability to lead the country.

'This is beyond my expectations. I knew it would be high, but not this high. The 7.3 per cent growth was better than forecast,' he said.

He also hit out at remarks by Parti Islam SeMalaysia president Abdul Hadi Awang telling party members it was fine to engage in character assassination.

Datuk Seri Abdullah said: 'I cannot understand how a leader of an Islamic party can say that when this is an act that is not allowed by the religion.'

On the notion that people should take a chance and see how the opposition did in government, he said: 'Running a country is not something you can experiment with. If it does not work, it will be terrible. That is a big risk.'

jeremyau@sph.com.sg
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