KUALA LUMPUR: There is a need for new indicators to measure the nation’s wealth, says Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The prime minister said that Malaysia, after 60 years of independence, has developed rapidly and has a higher wealthy population compared to before, with poverty levels being almost zero-rated.
He said this, however, needs to be corrected as many are in fact still living in poverty.
This, he said, is why there is a need to restructure how the nation’s wealth is measured, as the existing Gross Domestic Product and per capita income methods may not reflect the actual situation.
“We need to recalibrate. Do we get really something real when we talk about GDP and per capita income?” he said in his closing address at the Khazanah Megatrends Forum 2018.
Citing an example, he said that if there were 1,000 people and only one millionaire, the average income of the 1,000 is RM1,000.
“But there is only one millionaire and the rest have no money at all. That is why we need to find other indicators of wealth of the nation.
“If we go only by per capita income we may have equitability but in fact there is no equitability because the per capita income is due to the very high earning of the top few while the bottom have barely enough to buy food or to seek shelter with a roof over their head,” he said.
Dr Mahathir said the government would continue to works towards re-balancing the distribution of wealth. The previous government, he said, did not give focus on equitability in the distribution of wealth of the country.
“In order to do this, we need to have more professionals running government institutions and companies. We also should have good governance and management in the business sector
“If we do this, I believe that we can develop the nation even faster. Malaysia will also be more open to the private sector and we will help to generate income, both from within and outside the country,” he said.
Additional reporting by Hazwan Faisal Mohamad dan Ayisy Yusof