‘We’re poorer than we think’

Ong: Reality of poverty in country much more stark on the ground

KUALA LUMPUR: There may be more poor people than what is reported because of inaccurate measurement, says Dr Ong Kian Ming, who feels that the poverty line in Malaysia is too low.

“The official poverty rate is much more stark ... if we know where to look,” said the Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister.

Dr Ong said a higher poverty line would better measure poverty rates in a high-income nation.

“As wages climbed and we became a middle-income nation, we didn’t increase the standard for what is considered decent living above the poverty line. So, it’s a very low bar that we have now,” said Ong, adding the official poverty rate in Malaysia dropped from 0.6% in 2014 to 0.4% in 2016.

“Although 0.4% out of a population of about 30 million still works out to 120,000 people nationwide, the reality of poverty seems to be much more stark on the ground, especially if we know where to look.

“We need to increase the poverty line index to reach the level of a ‘living wage,’” he said.

( Living wage is the minimum income for a worker to meet his or her basic needs.)

Dr Ong said poverty rate reports should also take into account at-risk groups.

“There are households that may not fall under the poverty line but are in great danger of falling into poverty. For example, when the breadwinner cannot work anymore or passes away, or if someone in the family is struck with a debilitating disease,” he explained.

He also noted that among the urban poor here, one in three households had no social safety net – meaning no insurance, Socso (Social Security Organisation) or Employees Provident Fund.

Dr Ong was speaking at the release of the World Bank’s biennial Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report here yesterday in conjunc- tion with International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

The report Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2018: Piecing Together the Poverty Puzzle recognises that poverty is not only about income and consumption but should also be measured relatively to access to education, electricity, drinking water and sanitation.

In a follow-up forum on poverty in Malaysia at the same event, economist Dr Muhammed Abdul Khalid said the question was not only on how low the minimum wage but also how expensive things were.

“Our minimum wage is about RM5 an hour. A litre of milk is between RM6.80 and RM7.50. For the minimum wage earners, you work one hour, you can’t afford a litre of milk.

“In Thailand, the price of milk is much cheaper and the poor only have to work half an hour to afford a litre of milk,” he said.

The full World Bank report on poverty can be accessed at http://www.worldbank.org/en/ publication/poverty-and-shared-prosperity.