1.   The more radical campaigners focus on poverty eradication and debt cancellation.

2.   Growth, development, poverty eradication and a better environment can be facilitated and encouraged.

3.   Too often, short-term military, political and economic interests, rather than the goals of poverty eradication and human development, have shaped development assistance.

4.   Trade and investment have a dramatic impact on poverty eradication.

5.   Abject poverty may not be that obvious in Malaysia, often cited internationally as a success story in poverty eradication.

6.   Anwar added that poverty eradication would be a major issue to be discussed with World Bank president James D. Wolfensohn during his visit to Malaysia next week.

7.   But the road to rural development and poverty eradication is fraught with challenges.

8.   Expenditure in areas such as education, housing, poverty eradication, the re-training of retrenched workers and medical facilities at government hospitals will continue.

9.   He added that human resources would be given priority, while poverty eradication and health improvements followed closely in importance.

10.   He said the Government would ask the World Bank to shoulder part of the responsibility for poverty eradication and try to reduce the pressure on the poor.