Govt will keep working with private sector to reduce Covid-19 impact
KUALA LUMPUR: Although Covid19 has brought on many challenges and much pain, it has also brought everyone together to think about what is best for the people – be it their health, jobs, income, social wellbeing and welfare, said Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The Perikatan Nasional government would continue to work with the private sector and financial institutions to find ways to reduce the impact of Covid-19, he added.
Poverty remains a growing concern for the government despite the many policies and programmes introduced to curb it.
“With the recent revision of the National Poverty Line Income (PLI) from RM980 to RM2,208, more than 400,000 households have fallen within this level, or 5.6% of Malaysians,” Muhyiddin said at the Malaysia Urban Forum 2020, with the theme “The Transformative Pathway and Actions To Deliver The Sustainable Agenda”, here yesterday.
Also present were Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin and United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) executive director Datuk Seri Maimunah Mohd Sharif.
Muhyiddin said he had gone to the ground himself to visit residents of Desa Setapak People’s Housing Project here in August to observe the conditions of the urban poor.
“Many of them are petty traders working as taxi and lorry drivers. Others are self-employed and face increasingly challenging livelihoods daily.
“Among the areas which could be improved is the local community centre, where activities can be organised to enhance skills and entrepreneurship, as well as empower children’s education for a better future,” he said.
Muhyiddin hoped that urban farming would continue to prevent hunger and malnutrition among Malaysians and help reduce the burden of poor households, especially those living in urban areas.
“Since the pandemic, we have seen relentless efforts in urban farming carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Housing and Local Government as well as by the local communities,” he added.
He also called for a bottom-up feedback system to be strengthened to ensure integration and cooperation on policy matters, as well as better coordination of action plans to reduce mismatch between real needs and plans in urban areas.
The Prime Minister said it was important to understand the needs of the various groups of people as Malaysia faced many challenges as a fast-developing nation.
One of the challenges is the growing population in urban areas, as 80% or 26 million people are expected to reside in urban areas in 2030, from 77% currently.
Malaysia is also facing changes in its demographic profile as it will become an ageing society by 2045, with 14% of its population set to be 65 years old and above.
The Prime Minister said this would bring about new challenges in health service needs and physical environment.
“Our cities and urban environment must be for the aged and be gender-friendly as we prepare ourselves for this change. It is time to re-look at our planning and physical development to meet the needs of the elderly community,” he said.