I must agree with Steven Sim when he said that there are three kinds of lies; lies, damned lies and statistics in referring to the Minister In the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of the Economic Planning Unit Abdul Wahid Omar’s statement that the average household income has now reached RM5,900 per month.

I mean, who can argue with the law of averages? For example, if we put Ananda Krishnan, Anwar Ibrahim and myself in the room, it will mean that all of us are billionaires. In actual fact, I only earn a few thousand ringgit a month which is far lesser than the other two individuals.

But surely this is also wrong in other statistical agencies.

Take for instance, the average household income in Australia is about A$ 150,000. That's A$12,500 a month. If I apply the law of averages on just Gina Rinehart (worth A$17.7 billion), James Packer (worth A$6.6 billion) and the cashier in Big W (grocery store), they are all billionaires.

Before you get too excited about the A$12,500 per month, the unemployment rate in Australia is at 6.4 percent (Malaysia: 2.8 percent), the highest income tax bracket is 45 percent (Malaysia: 26 percent), weekly rent when I was studying in Sydney for a two-bedroom apartment a few doors away from a funeral home was A$550 per week (Malaysia: about RM300 per week if you stay next to me, more if you rent a place next to Anwar Ibrahim’s bungalow).

Yes, we can argue about technicalities, methodologies and numbers but one cannot hide from the fact that there are Malaysians who are in need of assistance out there with the rising cost of living.

That was perhaps the main reason why the prime minister made unpopular decisions to reduce fuel subsidies and the chief secretary introduced cost-cutting measures in government to help the lower-income groups in the form of 1Azam, Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) , agricultural subsidies to smallholders as well as cash and voucher asistance to students (book vouchers), All these assistance were given out to the needy regardless of race.

Steven Sim probably did not benefit from these but the total assistance that were actually given out into the pockets of the people cost the government billions of ringgit.

The BN-led federal government cannot do this alone and the people know this clearly. The days where Pakatan Rakyat can keep pointing their figures at BN are over.

There are approximately 11 million people who live under the rule of Pakatan Rakyat in Penang, Selangor and Kelantan. This is supposedly a dynamic, progressive group that will improve the lives of the people.

After six years, all we hear is the excellent financial track record of the state governments with surplus budget positions and billions in cash reserve as well as a lot of noise on how the state politicians are giving out some RM100 vouchers to elderly folks to shop at hypermarkets.

‘Think about relocating to Penang’

And there are people who make fun of BN and BR1M.

In his speech when he addressed the guests at InvestPenang Industry Dinner at Penang Golf Club on April 10, 2014, Penang Chief Minister CM Lim Guan Eng said and I quote from DAP Malaysia’s site, “Hence, Penang is not only the first state in Malaysian history to wipe out corruption but also the first state to wipe out poverty.”

My relatives who live in Penang had a good laugh when I told them that the state government has wiped out poverty. They said I must think about relocating to Penang and perhaps get a job with Penang Institute.

Not too long ago, I was in Penang for a two-day official trip and I must admit that in between meetings, I couldn’t resist the char koay teow in the streets near Macalister Road. While I was there, at least three times I was approached by people who asked me for spare change or donations to buy food.

So the next time any of us come across or hear people who complain about poverty in Penang, we should tell them about the DAP state government’s statement.

But then again, Steven Sim will warn me that statistics don’t lie. Oh wait. Ha-ha, politicians.

GOH WEI LIANG is a senior analyst at a government agency. He blogs at http://manifestogwl.blogspot.com