Poverty: Our national shame

Malaysia is a rich nation, blessed with abundant natural wealth and experiences few disasters. Unfortunately, the wealth of the nation has not been shared with the majority of the people, especially the poor.

The top 20 percent of Malaysians own 60 percent of the wealth of the nation while the bottom 40 percent, a mere 13 percent. Over the years, since our independence, the wealth disparity between the richest and the poorest Malaysians has widened considerably.

The previous government had proudly declared that hardcore poverty had been eradicated in Malaysia and that the country has one of the lowest poverty rates in the region.

In 2016, the Department of Statistics cited the incidence of poverty in Malaysia as 0.4%. The monthly household income figure used to calculate our national poverty rate is RM920 per month.

This current poverty line used in Malaysia is ridiculous. It is impossible for a family of two adults with two or three children to survive on RM900 per month. It is to our shame that we manipulate facts and figures to hide the poverty of the people of Malaysia.

Poverty is especially devastating to children as they are the most vulnerable to its effects. Many children in our country die due to chronic malnutrition, directly or indirectly.

Irreversible consequences of poverty

Irreversible long-term health and education inequalities are the consequence of poverty; perpetuating the cycle of poverty in the next generation. Our health services remain grossly underfunded, affecting the service delivered to those that require critical care.

We elect a government to support the people, especially those in need. But when we hide the real extent of poverty in our country, we ignore the key work that the government must focus on.

In comparison, Japan has a national poverty rate of 15 percent. In Japan, poverty is defined as the income of a household at or below half of the median household income – according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

This figure of 15%, in a very developed nation, makes our proud rate of 0.4% ludicrous. If we were to apply this more meaningful definition of poverty, from the OECD, then our median household income would be approximately RM2,600 per month for a family of two adults with two or three children; still tough to survive on but much more realistic. This better definition would mean that our true rate of poverty in Malaysia should be at least 40%.

There are many groups of Malaysians who live in poverty. Firstly, there is the abject poor who comprise our Orang Asli, Penan populations, and also some inner city poor. Their numbers may be small in terms of percentage of the population, but these Malaysians live day to day, just trying to keep their children fed and alive.

Then there is the larger group of Malaysians who are just barely making ends meet; they comprise more than 30% of our population. Many of these parents have to hold two jobs and some children have to work after school. They have no respite. No savings. No luxuries. No holidays. Little hope.

All over the country, we have numerous examples of extravagant state buildings and complexes built at enormous cost. There is no taking pride in such structures, there is only shame when there are Malaysians who struggle to survive.

We would like to ask the new government to take meaningful steps towards uplifting the entire nation, especially those in the bottom-40 percent economic bracket. We would like to suggest a few measures:

Firstly and immediately, redefine poverty so that we can recognise the biggest challenge for the nation to overcome. A more meaningful index for poverty in Malaysia would be the same one used in OECD countries (50% of median household income).

Secondly, as proposed by some ministers, have an economic policy that supports the poor regardless of their ethnicity. Supporting the poor will truly help shape the Malaysia of the future and allows us to distribute the wealth of the country more equitably.

Thirdly, please abandon mega projects that only benefit rich businesspersons. There are many spendthrift government activities that can be trimmed. For example, reduce the showy government functions with matching T-shirts and lavish meals in hotels.

Let’s build smaller offices and more environmentally friendly facilities so that the money can go to uplifting the poor and entire nation in real terms.

We have a lot of work ahead of us to rebuild our nation. Let us make sure one of the primary priorities is to truly eradicate poverty from our nation. If Malaysians continue to live in poverty, we as a nation have failed. -Mkini