THERE is a great sense of urgency to address Malaysia’s poverty issue, and as such, it is time for the country to abandon outdated practices designed to generate “feel good” numbers, said Lim Kit Siang.
The DAP veteran said there appears to be a consensus that the way in which the poverty rate is calculated should be reviewed, in the lead-up to the five-year 12th Malaysia Plan.
“To set matters right, what is needed is the establishment of an independent technical expert group, as well as an approach adopted by a large number of advanced countries when calculating important statistical measures,” he said in a statement yesterday.
United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Professor Philip Alston has said Malaysia’s true poverty rate exceeds 15%, far higher than the officially declared 0.4%.
However, Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali said the country stands by the 0.4% rate.
Lim said the officially declared rate is “delusional”, and cannot be used as a basis to plan and allocate resources.
“The methodology needs to be replaced and brought in line with international best practices.”
– Bernama
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