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Nurul Izzah: Covid-19 has given rise to 'new poor'

PETALING JAYA: The Covid-19 pandemic has given rise to a "new poor" or "differently poor" class of society, said Permatang Pauh Member of Parliament, Nurul Izzah Anwar.

She said every day, economic inequalities are being exacerbated in new and unprecedented ways.

"This pandemic is not 'a great leveller' at all – it may concurrently infect princes and paupers, but it is the latter who have felt the brunt of its far-reaching and terrible effects.

"This includes but is not limited to, poor health, lack of education, poor living standards, lack of access to healthcare, disempowerment, poor quality of work and living with the threat of violence, among others," she said in a statement.

With the enforcement of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), Nurul said the virus has shown the precariousness of people's financial situations when they begin to lose their main sources of income, particularly those relying on daily wages.

"As petty hawkers struggle in a zero sum world between the peril of a deadly flu, or simply starvation without income, the rules are seemingly bent in favour of more commercially sizeable entities – as the latter face less difficulty complying with the relevant guidelines".

For a country that has touted its great strides in poverty eradication, she said these common sights of deprivation call into question the nation's measurement of poverty.

We need to accurately measure the hardships of the rakyat for policies arising thereof to not only be well-meaning, but meaningful.

In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, she said aid has taken on a more urgent and relevant meaning as governments worldwide dispense cash to prop up firms, ordinary workers and households.

"The long arm of the state is being reoriented on welfare in an effort to shield citizens from the ongoing economic catastrophe.

"Spain is now considering the implementation of universal basic income as a systemic instrument to combat economic insecurity.

"Closer to home, fiscally prudent Singapore drew from its national reserves to relieve companies of 75 per cent of salaries for workers."

Malaysia, similarly, has taken steps to put cash directly into citizens' hands and to provide relief for SMEs.

Households and individuals with monthly income below the thresholds of RM8,000 and RM4,000 respectively are eligible for aid.

"However, when aid is defined by income and income only, it fails to capture the full spectrum of the deprivation faced," she added.

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