The imperative of political support and community participation in Malaysia’s poverty eradication: The case of the SPKR in Sarawak

Efforts to eradicate poverty in a holistic manner necessitate support, commitment, and active participation from local actors. The latter’s readiness to get involved is influenced, however, by a variety of factors. This paper addresses the issue of poverty eradication by examining the relationship between the level of political and local governance support and the participation of the local community in Malaysia’s Citizens’ Prosperity Development Scheme or Skim Pembangunan Kesejahteraan Rakyat (SPKR). Based on the results of a questionnaire survey of 260 household heads or Ketua Isi Rumah (KIR) of a longhouse in the Song District, Sarawak, it contends that high political and local government supports are crucial in enhancing community participation in the programme. The study reveals the perception of the majority of the KIR that they had only received moderate levels of political support as well as local government support (38.1%) in the implementation of the SPKR programme. The Chi Square Test Analysis demonstrates a significant relationship (P ≤ 0.05) between the level of political and local government support with the level of community participation in decision-making, benefit sharing , and programme implementation and evaluation activities of the SPKR. These findings reiterated the fact that the higher the political and local government support received by the community the higher the latter’s participation in the programmes’ poverty eradication activities.