Focus should be given to “at risk” groups or groups at the margin, rather than just looking at poverty measures to identify those who are below the poverty line, says Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Dr Ong Kian Ming (above).

He said these "at risk" groups were households which do not fall under the poverty line but they were in great danger of falling into poverty due to unforeseen circumstances.

“For example, the breadwinner meets with an unfortunate accident and cannot work anymore or passes away. Or if someone in the family, a child for example, suddenly falls ill with a debilitating disease which incurs high medical costs to treat, assuming the child does not have medical insurance.

“Among the urban poor in Kuala Lumpur, one in three households have no social safety net. This means no insurance, no Socso or no EPF,” he said when officiating at the launch of the “End Poverty Day 2018: Piecing Together the Poverty Puzzle” forum in Kuala Lumpur today.

The deputy minister noted these groups highlighted the need to look beyond just income figures and stressed the need to also look at wealth figures.

“These figures will show a much more unequal distribution of resources compared to the Gini coefficients for income earners.

“The fact that many households have not accumulated sufficient wealth to face the possibility of certain risks, such as illness and accidents, also illustrates the number of households which can be considered to be in the ‘at risk’ category,” he said.

Ong said mechanisms had to be put in place to measure the effectiveness of targeted policies on poverty amelioration and to test the effectiveness of the interventions with better impact evaluation that would capture outcomes.

“I could point out measures such as targeted subsidies, means-tested welfare schemes, review of various government entrepreneur programmes, increasing the quality and reach of education and health infrastructure to vulnerable communities – all of which are mentioned in yesterday’s 11th Malaysia Plan midterm review,” he added.

- Bernama