580k households slip into B40, absolute poverty rate rises to 8.4pct - PM
PARLIAMENT | A total of 580,000 households from the middle-income group have slipped into the bottom 40 percent (B40) category due to the economic fallout caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said.
This represents approximately 20 percent of the middle 40 percent (M40) group, which initially received a monthly income of between RM4,850 and RM10,959, he said...
PARLIAMENT | A total of 580,000 households from the middle-income group have slipped into the bottom 40 percent (B40) category due to the economic fallout caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said.
This represents approximately 20 percent of the middle 40 percent (M40) group, which initially received a monthly income of between RM4,850 and RM10,959, he said.
The pandemic also saw the B40 group suffer a loss of income, resulting in the absolute poverty figure in Malaysia rising to 8.4 percent in 2020, compared with 5.6 percent in 2019, Ismail Sabri said.
He said this is based on data provided by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), which is still applied to the current Poverty Line Income (PLI) which is set at RM2,208 per month.
"The government has conducted a socio-economic impact study following the pandemic," Ismail Sabri told S Kesavan (Pakatan Harapan-Sungai Siput) and Natrah Ismail (Harapan-Sekijang) in a parliamentary reply today.
"Based on the report's estimate of household income and incidence of poverty, which was conducted by the Statistics Department, as much as 20 percent or about 580,000 households from M40 group have shifted to the income limit below the B40 group," he said.
However, he noted that the unemployment rate contributed to a reduction of the take-home income for those in the M40 and B40 categories.
Kesavan and Natrah asked if the government planned to revise the PLI threshold to reflect the current situation.
Ismail Sabri said the government would revise the PLI threshold together with the Household Income and Basic Amenities Survey in 2022.
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