Use of technology, open mindset key to bridging income disparity

KUALA LUMPUR: Based on the State of Households 2018 report released by the Khazanah Research Institute ( KRI) on Monday, the income gap between households in the urban and rural areas is quite significant.

The report said that the total household income in most rural areas was lower than the national median of RM5,228, as compared to urban households, which were up to 1.7 times higher.

Commenting on the report, Malaysian Petty Traders Chambers of Commerce (MPTCC) president Datuk Seri Abu Hasan Mohd Nor said among the causes of the large gap was the attitude of the rural population, especially its entrepreneurs, who were not proactive in improving their living standards.

“The average rural population is less proactive in terms of raising their standard of living because they seem to be content with what they have, plus they are not too exposed to the outside world.

“In terms of rural entrepreneurs, they are comfortable using traditional methods as opposed to modern technology and this is indirectly detrimental to their business productivity,” he told Bernama when contacted here yesterday.

Abu Hasan said rural people, especially entrepreneurs, should look forward and adopt new technologies to bridge the gap with the urban population.

Another problem faced by rural entrepreneurs is a ‘weak’ business track record, which makes it difficult for them to get financial assistance.

“About 80 per cent of rural entrepreneurs are weak in terms of business networking, and rarely use technology to upgrade their businesses, such as by using machines and websites.

“They have been at a loss on how to improve their track record, so we at MPTCC have offered a platform and assistance in terms of improving their business productivity,” he said.

According to him, MPTCC offers courses and training to tens of thousands of registered entrepreneurs, and brings them to national- and international-level expositions.

Meanwhile, Abu Hasan also hoped there would be good news for rural entrepreneurs in the upcoming Budget 2019 which will be tabled by the government on Nov 2.

“For Budget 2019, MPTCC hopes that there is a special assistance channelled to our entrepreneurs especially in rural areas, and those involved in the small and medium industries (SMIs) to improve their businesses.

“In addition, all entrepreneurs, be it from small or large companies, must unite to form a large group and join with all parties (ministries, statutory bodies and NGOs). This way, their voices will be heard and taken heed of by the government,” he said.

Commenting further on the report which also said that new businesses in Malaysia lacked innovation, Abu Hasan said entrepreneurs should be more open in terms of exchanging views and ideas among themselves.

“Our entrepreneurs should not be merely self-satisfied, when they become successful, they refuse to share their ideas with others. Instead, they should be more collaborative and share ideas to inculcate innovation.

“Entrepreneurs also need to be more open to expanding their business network, and only from there, we will be able to innovate in terms of coming up with new products and improving our country’s economic standards,” he said. — Bernama