KUALA LUMPUR: Indicators used in determining the poverty line income or poverty threshold should not base on a general approach, but rather done by factoring in the geographical aspect, especially the cities.
Lembah Pantai member of parliament Fahmi Fadzil said the plans to review the national poverty threshold would be raised in the Dewan Rakyat to start on Oct 15.
He said it was to ensure more effective ways in channeling aids to the needy.
Fahmi said the best approach to address the issue was to set area-based poverty income level; differentiating indicators for the cities and rural areas, apart from channeling aid to targeted segments of the population based on information from the National Statistics Department.
“The cost of living in Kuala Lumpur, for instance, is higher that Kuala Kubu Bharu (in Selangor), Kota Bharu (Kelantan) or Johor Baru (Johor).
“So, we have to look at the statistics based on the geographical (factor) because living in cities with many people to care for is hard, even with an income of RM1,200.
“The government must place important emphasis on urban poor populated areas, regardless of their backgrounds such as Malays, Chinese or Indians.
“This is because, the problem, if not addressed, would cause social issues and even dampen efforts to elevate their socio-economic status.
“If this problem prolongs without rectifications including (on) the poverty income line, we may see poor families remaining as they area,” he told reporters after launching the closing ceremony of My Community Care 2018 organised by the Welfare Department, here, today.
Fahmi said he would raise the matter, which was related to the jurisdiction of the Economic Affairs Ministry, in the parliament, while raising social and economic issues during the debate session for 11th Malaysia Plan’s mid-term study.
He said other aspects that needed attention included social security, following reports of families facing socio-economic problems after the heads of households lost their source of income.
Welfare Department guidelines in distributing aids to the people is based on the 2014 statistics stated that the poverty line set in peninsula, Sabah and Labuan; and Sarawak were RM930, RM1,170 and RM990, respectively.