‘No strings attached’ allowance proposed for citizens

KUALA LUMPUR: Fancy a monthly nostrings-attached allowance from the state?

A Malaysian academician has suggested that this concept, known as the universal basic income (Ubi), could help Malaysia get through the current economic fallout caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

In its purest form, the Ubi has the elements of universality, unconditionality, and periodicity, according to Assoc Prof Dr Soon Jan-Jan of the School of Economics, Finance and Banking at Universiti Utara Malaysia.

This revolutionary yet unorthodox concept had been successfully tested in the small Canadian town of Dauphin for four years in the mid-1970s.

Now, Soon said, it would be worthwhile for Malaysia to consider implementing it in the country.

Under the Ubi concept, every adult citizen will receive just enough to meet basic requirements for food, shelter and education. The allowance is given regardless of one’s employment status or income bracket, and the recipient does not have to work for it and can spend the money on anything he wants.

“The Ubi has been touted as a panacea to economic hardship faced by the grassroots,” Soon said.

She said doubts on its feasibility and assumptions that free money would only make sloths out of beneficiaries remain a myth.

Based on the Dauphin experiment, and many subsequent experiments and studies, it has been found that there was no significant decrease in working hours, she said.

More remarkably is the fact that there have been several improvements. For instance, there was better performance at school, there was a dip in domestic violence, fewer hospitalisations and better choices of consumption spending.

However, Soon conceded that the monumental cost associated with its implementation would be difficult to surmount. “There is also the question of why the rich should also receive the money.”

In the Malaysian context, Soon pointed out, the many different forms of government relief assistance such as the Prihatin, Penjana, and Budget 2021 stimulus packages could well be precursors to a full-fledged Ubi system in the future. – Bernama