Govt initiatives to address urban income disparity

Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican

KUALA LUMPUR: As urbanisation grows from 71% in 2010 to 76% now, issues such as income disparity has emerged, widening the gap between the urban rich and urban poor households in Malaysia.

Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican said even though the median monthly income across the B40, M40 and T20 income groups had each increased, the T20 group recorded at least three times higher (income) than the B40 group throughout the period.

“The current pandemic has only aggravated the effects of this further; people are now dealing with a total loss of income, ” Reezal said in his keynote address at the Youth Economic Forum 2021, which took on the topic “Navigating The Future: Towards Future Proofing Our Youth”.