Lockdowns hurt poor people the most, says poverty expert

 

PETALING JAYA: A poverty expert says it is no surprise that the country’s poverty rate spiked to 8.4% last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Lockdowns brought about by the rapid spread of the deadly disease led to many in the informal sector and the self-employed losing their jobs and incomes, says sociologist Denison Jayasooria.

Apart from providing them with immediate cash transfers, there is “no other way” for the government to assist the B40 and other needy communities than to relax lockdown measures and open up the economy in a controlled manner, he told FMT.

“The reason for the higher poverty rate is clear with the increasing lockdowns,” said Jayasooria, a research fellow at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Denison Jayasooria.

“This group (B40) have low social protection and no pension, so there are several institutionalised issues that need to be set right.

“The government needs to balance health and the economy, and they have sought to assist … but it’s not sufficient for the prolonged difficulties of these kinds,” he added.

He said movement restrictions and the closure of various sectors deemed non-essential have severely impacted the livelihoods of Malaysians in the B40 category, many of whom, being unskilled workers, find it virtually impossible to work from home.

Earlier this week, economic affairs minister Mustapa Mohamed said the pandemic had caused disruptions to people’s income and exposed more households to poverty, with the poverty rate increasing from 5.6% in 2019 to 8.4% in 2020.

Jayasooria said the fact that the poverty threshold was more than double when calculating the 2019 statistics may have also led to more Malaysian households being included in last year’s poverty numbers, and that the reality on the ground is that “these stats may be more severe.”

Carmelo Ferlito

The poverty line was raised last year from a monthly household income of RM980 to RM2,208 in the first change of the poverty threshold in 15 years.

Putting a dent in the poverty rate can be done very easily, according to Carmelo Ferlito of the Center for Market Education.

“It’s very easy – just stop having lockdowns,” he said. “All the other things are minor solutions to keep people away from earning any income. Businesses are forced to close … and MNCs are relocating because the business environment is not good. All this is contributing to poverty.” - FMT