‘Covid-19 pushed M40, T20 households to lower income group’

 

PARLIAMENT | It is estimated about 20 percent of M40 households have been pushed to the B40 group, while 12.8 percent of T20 households have moved down to the M40 group due to Covid-19.

This is according to a simulation study undertaken by the Statistics Department of Malaysia (DOSM) in 2020 to examine the impact of the pandemic on household income.

Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli revealed this in a written parliamentary reply dated March 16.

He was responding to Padang Serai MP Azman Nasrudin who had asked for data on households shifting to other income groups and what steps had the government taken to address the rising cost of living.

The B40 income group refers to households with the lowest 40 percent of income, while M40 are households with income in the middle 40 percent.

The T20 group are those with the top 20 percent of household income.

“The government through DOSM is also currently finalising the findings of the Income, Expenditure and Basic Facilities Survey 2022 involving 92,000 households, starting from Jan 2022 to Dec 2022.

“The income limits for each income group will be updated through this study, which is expected to be published in the middle of this year,” Rafizi said.

He also said the government had taken several steps to mitigate the effects of the rising cost of living for the rakyat.

Among the initiatives were those announced by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in the re-tabling of Budget 2023, including cash aid and subsidies.

There is also the Inisiatif Pendapatan Rakyat (IPR) that is being implemented by the Economy Ministry - which will focus on increasing the income potential of the B40 group nationwide, Rafizi said. - Mkini