Over 100,000 more hardcore poor families since 2020, says Mustapa

KUALA LUMPUR: The number of hardcore poor families rose by some 100,000 over the past two years, says Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

"Based on National Data Bank on Poverty or eKasih managed by the Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU) under the Prime Minister's Department, a total of 44,829 heads of households were categorised as hardcore poor in 2020.

"However, based on the subsequent use of the income poverty line methodology 2019 and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of hardcore poor rose to 144,932 head of households as of June 30, 2022," the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Economy) said.

He said this when replying to a question raised by Datuk Mohd Fasiah Mohd Fakeh (PN-Sabak Bernam) in Dewan Rakyat on Monday (July 18).

To address this, he said that the government has implemented a programme to end hardcore poverty by 2025.

He said the Keluarga Malaysia Hardcore Poor Eradication Programme (BMTKM) is aimed at assisting existing hardcore poor eradication programmes to tackle the issue of poverty across ethnic lines.

"The BMTKM will be implemented in 1,000 localities between three and six months.

"The first phase was implemented in June involving 80 localities as a pilot programme," he said.

Mustapa said that the goal of the programme is to see the monthly income of hardcore poor families increase between RM300 and RM1,000 through various economic activities.

He noted that the programme was closely monitored at the district and branch levels.

He said that officers monitoring the programme are required to give a monthly progress report and intervene if necessary.

Mustapa cited an example under the programme involving 35 hardcore poor families in Sabak Bernam, Kampung Sungai Lias in economic activities with the help of RM340,000 in allocations.

Meanwhile, Mustapa said that the determination of the hardcore poor is not only based on the median income of a household but involves the use of a multi-dimensional poverty index.

He was responding to Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (BN-Baling) about whether "relative poverty" is also considered in determining the level of poverty of a household.