Government must also address urban poverty, says Lam Thye
SIBU: Malaysia needs to continue focussing not only on rural but also urban poverty, considering that the country is aiming to be a high-income nation by 2020.
1Malaysia Foundation trustee Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, who stated this yesterday, said the annual government budget must therefore be able to provide adequate social safety net to the vulnerable groups in addition to existing programmes such as 1Malaysia People’s Aid ( BR1M) and others.
“The social safety net schemes should be able to reach out to deserving individuals and families including people with disabilities, the elderly and single mothers in order to help them cope with the escalating cost of living and protect them from economic shocks,” he said in a statement on the budget proposals.
The 2017 Budget will be unveiled against a backdrop of various domestic and external challenges such as sluggish global economy, subdued crude oil prices, weaker ringgit, rising cost of living and affordable housing.
Lee said the people are hoping that despite these challenges, the government will allocate its revenue for next year in a wise and pragmatic manner so that all Malaysians will benefit from it.
“The crux of the current issues in Malaysia is the hardships faced by the bottom 40 ( B40) per cent of households in the country. Not only these people are in the lower household income bracket of below RM3,000 a month, but they are also in perpetual debt, could not afford to own a house, some do not even have proper or permanent jobs, and their children could not afford to pursue higher education.
“The B40 group should also be given greater access to affordable homes, stable jobs, better education and skills training to improve their standard of living and quality of life.”
He highlighted that Budget 2017 should also give attention to the middle 40 per cent ( M40) income group, with monthly household income of between RM3,000 and RM9,000, because people in this income group are big consumers due to their substantial size and purchasing power.
However, wage increases that fail to keep up with inflation over the years have resulted in a decline in real wages of middleincome earners, he noted.