While the spectre of urban poverty has alarmingly overshadowed its incidence in rural areas and said to be worrying the authorities, participants at a seminar said this was not reflected in the strategies contained in the 9th Malaysia Plan (9MP).

"More than 20 percent of the (9MP's development) allocation goes to rubber replanting and oil palm replanting and regional development," said Assoc Prof Dr Sulochana Nair from Universiti Malaya's Faculty of Economics and Administration.

"Urban poverty (however), which has received so much hype over the last couple of years has only got 1.1% of that development budget. This is of some concern," she told participants at a two-day convention on the 9MP in Petaling Jaya.

The government has slated RM11.5 billion for distributional programmes that will seek to reduce income inequalities, narrow the rural-urban income disparity and restructure society.

Sulochana, a panellist at the convention organised by the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute, was responding to the presentation on the 9MP's poverty eradication programme by Institute of Malaysian and International Studies professor Dr Ragayah Mat Zin.

She lauded the setting-up of a national poverty database to register the urban and rural poor as well as poverty mapping to assist in designing anti-poverty programmes. Unlike previous plans, the 9MP reveals the ethnic dimensions of poverty.

"This is transparent and very refreshing," she said.

Critical evaluation

However, studies have yet to be conducted to determine the efficacy of palm oil and rubber replanting in eradicating poverty in the country while studies elsewhere suggested they were less than effective.

"I think there is a need for a really critical evaluation of strategies we just keep. These have never ever been effective anti-poverty instruments but still they're given a significant portion of the development budget," she said.

Among other steps to be taken are income-generation projects and employment opportunities, particularly in Sabah, Terengganu and Perak which have a high number of hardcore poor households.

Emphasis will be given to human capital development and access to credit and micro-credit facilities.

Those unable to participate in gainful economic activities, such as the elderly, poor, single parents, the disabled and destitute will continue to receive outright assistance.

There will also be a thrust on education and training in specific skills/knowledge as well as inculcation of good work ethics and self-confidence.

Rural communities will obtain improved access to new technologies, modern farming methods and off-farm economic activities as well as to training and credit schemes.

A comprehensive plan will also be implemented to address poverty among Orang Asli, by increasing income and improving the quality of life.