The government wants to reduce the income gap among groups in Malaysia and it is moving in the right direction, said the Prime Minister's Office economic adviser Muhammed Abdul Khalid (above) today.

He said this was evident during the mid-term review of the 11th Malaysia Plan (RMK11) presented by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in Parliament yesterday.

Mahathir had, among others, announced that the government would launch specific programmes aimed at empowering minorities such as the native Sabahans and Sarawakians as well as the Orang Asli in rural areas.

Mahathir had also announced that the government would implement programmes for specific groups among the Indian and Chinese communities to develop their economic potential and eradicate poverty.

"In a society like ours, such policies matter for national unity and social cohesion. You cannot have one group with major differences.

“So the right direction is to reduce the gap in moving forward," Muhammed told reporters after speaking at a forum themed “End Poverty Day 2018” in Kuala Lumpur.

Muhammed stressed that countries with high inequality and a wide income gap often took a longer time to recover from economic crises and their economies were not sustainable in the long run.

'Bangsa Malaysia'

In the presenting the review, Mahathir had said that the results of development must be felt by all Malaysians.

"This means that there shouldn't be too wide a gap between the rich and the poor, between one race and another. No one should feel left out from development.

"Development, in its true meaning, must contribute to the development of 'Bangsa Malaysia'," Mahathir had said.

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