Azmin disputes UN poverty claims
NATION
Saturday, 24 Aug 2019
By Sira Habibu
image: https://apicms.thestar.com.my/uploads/images/2019/08/24/230907.jpg
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has dismissed claims from a United Nations representative that the country had undercounted the extent of its poverty as baseless.
Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali (pic) said Malaysia stands by its official poverty figure of 0.4%, as it was derived from internationally-accepted standards based on the second edition (2011) of the Canberra Group Handbook on household income statistics published by the United Nations.
“Malaysia is disappointed with the remarks made by the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, Prof Philip Alston, in a press release issued on Aug 23,” he said in a statement yesterday in response to Prof Alston’s call to Malaysia to reassess its poverty rate, claiming rigorous independent analyses had suggested Malaysia’s poverty rate hovered at between 16 and 20%, far above the official figure.
Azmin also refuted Prof Alston’s assertion that a sizeable part of the Malaysian population struggle to get by, with tenuous access to food, shelter, education and healthcare.
“It is misconceived, erroneous and clearly lacks empirical evidence and rigorous scientific analysis,” said Azmin, who added that Prof Alston’s claim that Malaysians had limited ability to exercise civil and political rights was also unfounded, as evidenced at the last general election, where 82.3% of voters exercised their rights that resulted in a peaceful change of Federal Government for the first time since Independence.
Azmin said the government was not oblivious to the rising cost of living that had taken a toll on the bottom 40% of society.
“A signification portion of the federal operating expenditures is allocated for subsidies and social assistance cutting across energy, food, healthcare and education (sectors),” he said.
“In 2018, a total of RM27.5bil (comprising 11.9% of total operating expenditures) was set aside for this purpose.”
To increase the effectiveness of poverty eradication, the government was reviewing the poverty line income (PLI) to better reflect the current cost of living.
“In addition, a Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) has been established to measure a wider scope of deprivation beyond the income dimension. The indicators for MPI are also being reviewed to better reflect the social mobility of households,” he said.
Azmin also said that on humanitarian grounds, the Malaysian government had been collaborating with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and its partners in providing access to basic needs as well as the provision of skills training and education for refugees to enjoy better livelihood and healthcare.
To Prof Alston’s claim that the national poverty line of RM980 per household per month would see an urban family of four surviving on RM8 per person per day, which was a “tragically low line” for a country on the cusp of attaining high-income status, Azmin said the PLI was higher than the US$1.25 (RM5.20) per day targeted under the Sustainable Development Goals.
“The PLI is also higher for Sabah (RM1,180) and Sarawak (RM1,020), taking into account additional costs such as transportation,” he said.
Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/08/24/azmin-disputes-un-poverty-claims#gjXitfxL0wsLJfWB.99
UN rights expert: Malaysia’s poverty rate grossly underreported, actual number between 15 to 20pc
Malay Mail
Danial Dzulkifly
Malay Mail23 August 2019
United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Phillip Alston, speaks at the JW Marriott Hotel in Kuala Lumpur August 23, 2019. — Picture by Choo Choy May
United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Phillip Alston, speaks at the JW Marriott Hotel in Kuala Lumpur August 23, 2019. — Picture by Choo Choy May
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KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 — Malaysia’s actual poverty rate could stand from 15 to 20 per cent, despite official government data in 2016, placing it only at 0.4 per cent of households living under the poverty lines said, United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Phillip Alston.
Alston said this is due to the country’s unrealistic and outdated poverty line measurement of RM980 for a household of four, per month that is mainly utilised in the 1970s.
“Malaysia’s national poverty line is not consistent with the cost of living or household income. It might have made sense in 1970, but real household income has increased fivefold since then, and the country has gone from a ‘low-income’ to an ‘upper middle income’ country in that time.
“The national poverty line of RM 980 per household of four people surviving on RM8 per day is not realistic.
“This is a tragically low line for a country on the cusp of attaining high income status, especially since a range of rigorous independent analyses have suggested a more realistic poverty rate of 16 to 20 per cent and about nine per cent of households survive on less than RM2,000 per month,” the report stated.
In his preliminary report, Alston quoted Khazanah Research Institute (KRI) report that gauges the actual poverty rate in the country after it raises the threshold to 60 per cent of the median household income. The report places Malaysia’s poverty rate at 20 per cent of the population.
Alston said by not gauging the real rate of poverty could have a detrimental effect on national development and as well as public policymaking.
“This would lead to underinvestment in policies gear to reduce poverty and inadequate social safety net that does not meet the people’s needs.
When asked on what should be the country’s new benchmarked of the poverty line, Alston said it is not up to him to decide however reiterate that the government should engage a more realistic manner in gauging poverty and even pointed out that they can refer to local independent research done by the KRI and even Bank Negara as the basis.
Alston then reiterated that the government should adopt a more meaningful poverty line that is consistent with international standards.
“Policies should also be devised to address the needs of those living within the Bottom 20 and there is a need to expand overall spending on social protection,” he said.
Alston also advised the government to adopt a more comprehensive data transparency policy as he stated that obtaining official data from the government has been difficult.
Alston is part of the UN Human Rights Procedures and was in the country for the past 11 days, from 13 to Aug 23, to investigate the country’s efforts in eradicating poverty among other things.
