— ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE / The Star — ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE / The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: The number of households registered under the hardcore poor category has reduced to 118,217 as of May 15, when compared to 124,744 in the same period in 2022.
Deputy Economy Minister Datuk Hanifah Hajar Taib said a similar pattern was also reflected in the number of households registered as poor according to the eKasih database.
“The number of households registered as poor has decreased to 299,080 from 304,911 in the same period,” she said during Ministers' Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (May 25).
Hanifah was responding to a question from Mohd Syahir Che Sulaiman (PN-Bachok) who wanted to know the government’s progress to reduce the poverty rate and eliminate extreme poverty over the past six months.
She added that the country’s labour market situation has improved since the country entered the Covid-19 endemic phase.
“The unemployment rate has decreased to 3.5% as of March this year compared to 5.3% in May 2020.
“The strong economic growth last year has aided the recovery of the labour market,” she said.
Hanifah said a total of 82,892 applicants have applied for the Peoples Income Initiative (IPR) programme, aiming to assist vulnerable groups.
In March, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said there are plans to end hardcore poverty in the country faced by an estimated 130,000 households by this year.
As of March 15, a total of 123,243 heads of households have been identified as hardcore poor under the e-Kasih database.
