PETALING JAYA: Over 1.2 million Malaysians are still living in poverty, says Datuk Mustapha Sakmud (pic).
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) said data from the Household Income Survey showed that as of last year, a total of 1,204,995 Malaysians, including 247,062 heads of household, were categorised as living in poverty.
He said Sabah recorded the highest number of poor people at 254,303, followed by Kelantan (239,850) and Terengganu (117,159).
Other states were Sarawak (103,968), Kedah (91,768), Perak (79,455), Selangor (65,177), Pahang (47,837), Penang (44,852), Perlis (40,620) and Johor (39,022).
States with lower numbers were Negri Sembilan (29,591), Melaka (25,647), Kuala Lumpur (17,885), Labuan (7,786) and Putrajaya (75).
Mustapha said no Malaysians were categorised as living in hardcore poverty.
“The categorisation of poverty depends on household per capita income and is based on a calculation formula provided by the Economy Ministry.
“Meanwhile, hardcore poverty status is determined based on the current Poverty Line Income, which is periodically revised to reflect changes in the cost of living, food prices, inflation rate and location-specific costs.
“The government recognises that poverty measurement cannot be considered static and must be continuously reviewed according to ongoing context,” he said in a parliamentary written reply dated Jan 29.
Mustapha was responding to a question from Jeli MP Zahari Kechik on the current number of poor and hardcore poor households listed under eKasih and the government’s initiatives to eradicate hardcore poverty.
