PETALING JAYA: The government will intensify inclusive development to improve the rakyat's well-being in line with the country's economic growth, as one of the key aims in the mid-term review of the 11th Malaysia Plan.
Among the efforts that will be stepped up includes raising the income and purchasing power of the B40 households, enhancing the Bumiputra Economic Community as well as empowering minorities and specific target groups.
Other measures outlined included improving the rakyat's quality of life through measures to increase their buying power, and access to quality and affordable housing and healthcare.
Socio-Economic Research Centre (SERC) executive director Lee Heng Guie lauded the government's will to establish a framework for an integrated and comprehensive social protection system for the B40 households.
"There should be proper guidelines and mechanism with good governance to manage the subsidy and welfare to ensure the policies are properly implemented.
"There must be a good tracking system so that the government can closely monitor the effectiveness of the policies," he added.
Given the assistance and support, he said the B40 group might need to change their mindset and attitude.
"They should trust that they can leave the B40 group and will not be stuck there forever. However, it will take time (for them to change)," he added.
When contacted, political analyst Koh Kok Wee pointed out that in the past year, medium- and low-income earners in Malaysia generally faced the problem of rising cost of living and stagnant wages, which did not improve much even after GE14.
"The previous tax-free window was rather short and prices of goods have not dropped significantly after the implementation of SST," he said.
As focus was more on the B40 group, Koh noted that the government should not ignore the predicaments faced by the middle-income group that are often neglected.
He said that medical and healthcare expenses have been an increasingly heavy burden for them, and the government must consider if they intend to cut down on subsidies.
Universiti Sains Malaysia political science lecturer Dr Azmil Tayeb pointed out that there was hardly any mention of stronger social welfare net for the poor in the review.
"For example, is there any plan for unemployment benefits for those who lose their jobs? Or job retraining programmes?
"Second, while it is laudable to increase income and purchasing power, the reality now is starkly different. Minimum income is raised to merely RM1,050, which is a far cry from RM4,790 median income for the B40 group," he said.
Dr Azmil said the decreasing dependence of people on government assistance could mean that the government is abdicating its responsibility to care for the poor and needy by passing it on to the private sector.
"I think this will not bode well for the poor and needy.
"Thus, a stronger social welfare net should be established to ensure no one falls through the cracks in hard times," he said.
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak political analyst Assoc Prof Dr Jeniri Amir said that the government should focus on closing the disparity between people living in different states by looking into underdeveloped regions.
"The government must first understand the needs of the marginalised groups in order to meaningfully tackle rising costs of living," he said.
Dr Jeniri also noted that government's intention to build 200,000 affordable houses for the remaining plan period was not adequate because affordable housing is in high demand.
"The locations for affordable housing and healthcare facilities should be appropriate and strategic," he said, adding that more of these should be built in rural areas.
The Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute's Centre for Public Policy Studies senior director Lau Zheng Zhou said the government should also adopt a demand-driven approach in addressing some of the issues and challenges.
"For example, on the issue of affordable housing, the government should recognise that changes in demand such as job mobility and the rise of gig economy may result in greater need for a strong rental market, not necessarily homeownership via buying affordable houses," he said.
The government should also realign the role of government-linked companies (GLCs) towards socio-economic development rather than having wide presence in the Malaysian economy, resulting in smaller private enterprises to be less competitive.
Lau said the government should promote technology and knowledge transfer via partnerships with foreign firms as means to develop competitiveness for the economy of the future, rather than focusing too much on short-term subsidies to boost spending.
"The development of new industries such as renewable energy or rolling stock manufacturing through greenfield investment by foreign companies should be promoted.
Malaysia has the potential to be the regional hub and stronger emphasis on the manufacturing sector can address the issue of premature de-industrialisation," he added.
He also opined that the government should focus on the strengthening the roles of development financing institutions (DFI) in addressing future demand and work towards meeting United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals.
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