The Need to Develop a Comprehensive and Equitable National Poverty Policy in Malaysia

By: Datin Sri Prof. Dr. Suhaiza Hanim Dato Mohamad Zailani

Malaysia has made considerable progress in reducing poverty. The Twelfth Malaysia Plan (12MP, 2021-2025) recognises two major forms of poverty and aims to reduce them.

Relative poverty occurs when a person’s income is much lower than the community average, while absolute poverty occurs when a person’s income is insufficient to cover basic expenses like clothes, housing, and food.

While the national poverty rate is 0.2%, there are notable regional differences, especially in Sabah, where the extreme poverty rate is six times higher at 1.2%. Given the significantly higher incidence of extreme poverty in several Sabah districts—such as Tongod and Beluran—region-specific initiatives are needed.

The primary conclusion of the last fifty years of development study and policy is that economic growth is the best means of enabling individuals to escape poverty and realise their aspirations for a better life.

In fact, ‘top-down’ initiatives and programmes are prevalent in eradicating poverty. Programmes with a centrally controlled approach could get sufficient funding to continue.

Nevertheless, the absence of bottom-up or community-based initiatives fosters a subsidy mindset and reliance syndrome, which renders low-income individuals helpless.

Furthermore, there has been a shift in the worldwide perception of poverty. Traditional assessments concentrate on income levels, but there is growing agreement that poverty is a multifaceted problem that affects living conditions, health, and education.

Malaysia must adapt to this global transition. For the nation to develop, it must embrace a more comprehensive definition of poverty and guarantee that its people have sufficient earnings, opportunities, and a high standard of living.

As Malaysia moves towards becoming a high-income country, improving its policies on combating poverty is even more important. The nation’s efforts to improve its economic standing internationally must be comprehensive to guarantee that no segment of the populace is left behind.

This entails tackling the various facets of poverty in Malaysia, including access to fundamental utilities, health, education, and income.

Accordingly, various government departments and groups formulate and execute these policies and programmes to enhance the well-being of marginalised communities in Malaysia, yet there have been disagreements over their efficacy.

This suggests that we should question whether these programmes really benefit the underprivileged people they are meant to assist and provide the desired results.

Hence, governments frequently need to simplify administrative procedures, establish systems for interagency collaboration, and make sure that policies are complementary rather than competing to handle these problems.

Using technology for data sharing, open communication, and well-defined accountability systems may also address some of the difficulties posed by having several organisations overseeing poverty policy.

In this regard, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim claimed that the recently established Central Database Hub (Padu) has the potential to alleviate extreme poverty in the nation. As a top objective for the government in 2024, the prime minister stated that Padu will facilitate the effective distribution of targeted subsidies.

When addressing the problems, governments frequently try to strike a balance between coordination and specialisation.

Thus, it is suggested that a strategic approach to improving the efficacy and impact of poverty alleviation initiatives in Malaysia is to designate specific ministries, the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development and the Ministry of Urban Well-being, Housing, and Local Government, respectively, with the task of coordinating and monitoring rural and urban poverty programmes.

Through the designation of these ministries, the government hopes to guarantee that policies and initiatives are customised to meet the specific requirements of rural and urban people, encourage concentrated attention, and simplify efforts.

Thus, strong and open policies to eradicate poverty are desperately needed as Malaysia becomes a high-income country, drawing greater foreign investments and international cooperation. This policy should improve the country’s reputation internationally and align with its socioeconomic goals.

^{The author is the Director of the Ungku Aziz Centre for Development Studies, Universiti Malaya. She may be reached at shmz@um.edu.my}