The nominal GDP per person in Kuala Lumpur in 2012 was higher than South Korea but lower than the latter’s capital Seoul and Singapore, based on a report revealed by Khazanah Research Institute.

The State of Households Report stated the Malaysian capital's nominal GDP was US$24,240 two years ago and was higher than South Korea’s US$22,590 nominal GDP per person.

However, Kuala Lumpur's figure was lower than Seoul and Singapore which had the nominal GDP per person of US$26,829 and US$53,519 respectively.

The report was presented by Khazanah Research Institute managing director Charon Mokhzani ( left ) and launched by Khazanah Nasional Bhd deputy chairperson Nor Mohammed Yakcop.

The purpose of the comparison is to show the wide variation in nominal GDP per person between the states in Malaysia, the report stated.

Nevertheless, the nominal GDP per person of Malaysia as a whole is US$10,387, which is lower than the capital of Indonesia with US$11,487.

 
Meanwhile, the nominal GDP per person of Kelantan is US$3,481, and lies between richer Indonesia (US$3,591) and poorer Sri Lanka (US$2,876).
 
The report stated that Malaysia is a high middle-income country, with a GDP per person above Mexico (US$9,479) and the world average (US$10,318) and not far below Turkey (US$10,666) and Brazil (US$11,340).
 
“Between 2009 and 2012, Malaysia's real median household income grew by 19 percent; in contrast, in the US and the UK real median household income dropped by four percent,” it stated.
 
However, the report noted that high GDP, GDP per person and GDP per household do not necessarily translate into high household incomes.
 
It pointed out that four states in peninsular Malaysia, namely Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu have lower income and less basic amenities.
 
For example, it stated that in Kelantan, only 50 percent of its rural households and 68 percent of its urban households have piped water while the majority (57 percent) of its households have no flush toilets but need to use the 'tandas curah' (standalone sewerage bucket).
 
In contrast, the households which have 'tandas curah' in the states with more development, such as Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Johor, were very low.
 
The Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of median household income from 1995 to 2012 was 5.9 percent, which grew from RM1,377 to RM3,626.

Unequal household incomes

 

The report also highlighted that there is unequal household income which vary by ethnic groups and there is also intra-ethnic inequality in income distribution.
 
Citing the Department of Statistics Household Income Survey, the report said that the bumiputera (26 percent) and 'others' (32 percent) ethnic groups tend to have higher proportions of households that earn less than RM2,000 a month.
 
Meanwhile, the Chinese and Indians have higher proportions of households earning more than RM4,000 per month, which is 41 percent and 55 percent respectively.
 
“The Chinese have proportionately the most households that earn RM10,000 or more per month,” it said.
 
The report also stated there is the urban-rural income gap, which is more severe than the income gap between the ethnic groups.
 
“For example, in rural areas, the average bumiputera household income (RM3,010) is less than the average Chinese household income (RM3,806), whereas the average urban bumiputera household income (RM5,301) is much higher,” it added.

The report also showed that the housing prices of our country were high, at 5.5 times of annual median income, while ideally, it should be about three times.
 
“In median income terms, our houses are more expensive than those in Ireland (2.8 times) and even Singapore (5.1 times),” it added.