Trying to jumpstart 'shared prosperity', PM says will embark on closing disparities

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today says the government will embark on efforts to narrow the various gaps in societies as part of Putrajaya's "shared prosperity" vision.

He said this after chairing a special cabinet meeting on the vision, during which Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali tabled a paper where technical and vocational education and training (TVET) would serve as an important tool.

Mahathir said among the disparity the government hoped to address in realising "shared prosperity" was the gap between rich and poor states, urban and rural residents, as well as high-income earners and low-income earners.

"The government will give priority to poor states to improve their income.

"The government will also increase programmes in rural areas and address the very wide gap between the poor and rich.

"Executives are bringing in an income of RM2 million to RM3 million a year while lower-class workers are making far less," he told a press conference in Putrajaya after chairing the meeting at the Prime Minister's Department.

However, Mahathir said the effort to increase income won't be through handouts but through empowerment.

He said this entailed training and upskilling target groups to improve their capability of earning more.

"This new policy won't try to make everyone millionaires, but it will improve their income," he said.

As for states, Mahathir said the focus would be on Kelantan, Kedah and Perlis, which have been deemed "poor".

He said the plan to utilise TVET to achieve this outcome has been agreed upon in principle.

"Azmin tabled the proposal paper, and there was some debate on it during the three-hour discussion.

"The paper was agreed upon in principle but will be presented to the cabinet again for confirmation," he said.

However, the prime minister also downplayed the significance of the special cabinet meeting today, stating that this was not the first time the government had more than one cabinet meeting in a week.

Mahathir had on the first anniversary of the Pakatan Harapan government outlined the "shared prosperity" vision, but progress on implementation has taken time. - Mkini