PARLIAMENT Two million households in Malaysia earn less than RM3,000 a month, the government said.

This is close to half of the national average income of RM5,919 a month.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s department Abdul Wahid Omar told the Dewan Rakyat today that those earning less than RM3,000 a month make up 28.7 percent of Malaysian households.

Nevertheless, he said, Malaysian Statistics Department data shows there is an increase of 10 percent in the number of households earning RM3,000 and more per month from 2009 to 2014.  

He also said that average household income rose from RM4,025 per month in 2009 to RM5,000 in 2012 and RM5,919 in 2014.

"Although we are on the right track, we are still not satisfied," Bernama quoted him as saying when replying to a question from Irmohizam Ibrahim (BN-Kuala Selangor).

Wahid earlier received flak after he announced the average household income for 2014.

Many are accusing the government of using statistics to mislead the public, as it does not reflect the situation on the ground.