PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has dismissed claims from a United Nations representative that the country had undercounted the extent of its poverty as baseless.
Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali (pic) said Malaysia stands by its official poverty figure of 0.4%, as it was derived from internationally-accepted standards based on the second edition (2011) of the Canberra Group Handbook on household income statistics published by the United Nations.
“Malaysia is disappointed with the remarks made by the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, Prof Philip Alston, in a press release issued on Aug 23,” he said in a statement yesterday in response to Prof Alston’s call to Malaysia to reassess its poverty rate, claiming rigorous independent analyses had suggested Malaysia’s poverty rate hovered at between 16 and 20%, far above the official figure.
Azmin also refuted Prof Alston’s assertion that a sizeable part of the Malaysian population struggle to get by, with tenuous access to food, shelter, education and healthcare.
“It is misconceived, erroneous and clearly lacks empirical evidence and rigorous scientific analysis,” said Azmin, who added that Prof Alston’s claim that Malaysians had limited ability to exercise civil and political rights was also unfounded, as evidenced at the last general election, where 82.3% of voters exercised their rights that resulted in a peaceful change of Federal Government for the first time since Independence.
Azmin said the government was not oblivious to the rising cost of living that had taken a toll on the bottom 40% of society.
“A signification portion of the federal operating expenditures is allocated for subsidies and social assistance cutting across energy, food, healthcare and education (sectors),” he said.
“In 2018, a total of RM27.5bil (comprising 11.9% of total operating expenditures) was set aside for this purpose.”
To increase the effectiveness of poverty eradication, the government was reviewing the poverty line income (PLI) to better reflect the current cost of living.
“In addition, a Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) has been established to measure a wider scope of deprivation beyond the income dimension. The indicators for MPI are also being reviewed to better reflect the social mobility of households,” he said.
Azmin also said that on humanitarian grounds, the Malaysian government had been collaborating with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and its partners in providing access to basic needs as well as the provision of skills training and education for refugees to enjoy better livelihood and healthcare.
To Prof Alston’s claim that the national poverty line of RM980 per household per month would see an urban family of four surviving on RM8 per person per day, which was a “tragically low line” for a country on the cusp of attaining high-income status, Azmin said the PLI was higher than the US$1.25 (RM5.20) per day targeted under the Sustainable Development Goals.
“The PLI is also higher for Sabah (RM1,180) and Sarawak (RM1,020), taking into account additional costs such as transportation,” he said.
Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali (pic) said Malaysia stands by its official poverty figure of 0.4%, as it was derived from internationally-accepted standards based on the second edition (2011) of the Canberra Group Handbook on household income statistics published by the United Nations.
“Malaysia is disappointed with the remarks made by the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, Prof Philip Alston, in a press release issued on Aug 23,” he said in a statement yesterday in response to Prof Alston’s call to Malaysia to reassess its poverty rate, claiming rigorous independent analyses had suggested Malaysia’s poverty rate hovered at between 16 and 20%, far above the official figure.
Azmin also refuted Prof Alston’s assertion that a sizeable part of the Malaysian population struggle to get by, with tenuous access to food, shelter, education and healthcare.
“It is misconceived, erroneous and clearly lacks empirical evidence and rigorous scientific analysis,” said Azmin, who added that Prof Alston’s claim that Malaysians had limited ability to exercise civil and political rights was also unfounded, as evidenced at the last general election, where 82.3% of voters exercised their rights that resulted in a peaceful change of Federal Government for the first time since Independence.
Azmin said the government was not oblivious to the rising cost of living that had taken a toll on the bottom 40% of society.
“A signification portion of the federal operating expenditures is allocated for subsidies and social assistance cutting across energy, food, healthcare and education (sectors),” he said.
“In 2018, a total of RM27.5bil (comprising 11.9% of total operating expenditures) was set aside for this purpose.”
To increase the effectiveness of poverty eradication, the government was reviewing the poverty line income (PLI) to better reflect the current cost of living.
“In addition, a Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) has been established to measure a wider scope of deprivation beyond the income dimension. The indicators for MPI are also being reviewed to better reflect the social mobility of households,” he said.
Azmin also said that on humanitarian grounds, the Malaysian government had been collaborating with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and its partners in providing access to basic needs as well as the provision of skills training and education for refugees to enjoy better livelihood and healthcare.
To Prof Alston’s claim that the national poverty line of RM980 per household per month would see an urban family of four surviving on RM8 per person per day, which was a “tragically low line” for a country on the cusp of attaining high-income status, Azmin said the PLI was higher than the US$1.25 (RM5.20) per day targeted under the Sustainable Development Goals.
“The PLI is also higher for Sabah (RM1,180) and Sarawak (RM1,020), taking into account additional costs such as transportation,” he said.
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