Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (CU)_ According to the latest statement from Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, Malaysia’s Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy), the states of Sabah, Sarawak, Kelantan, and Kedah witnessed the highest poverty rates as a result of the disparity and imbalanced development throughout Malaysia in terms of wealth, income, education, and infrastructure.
While delivering his address at the launch of the World Bank Group’s Malaysia Economic Monitor report held at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, on Thursday, Mustapa stated, “We have been trying our best to mitigate this (poverty) — indeed, the issue of poverty eradication remains high, if not one of the main priorities, on the government’s agenda”. Mustapa highlighted that the Economic Planning Unit and the Implementation Coordination Unit of Malaysia are leading the country’s initiatives to eliminate extreme poverty.
The launch ceremony was broadcast live on Facebook and Webex. Mustapa noted that the government’s goal is to make the economy more inclusive and resilient, thereby eradicating extreme poverty. He said, “Malaysia aspires to be a high-income nation by the year 2025. However, as we all know, the fruits of prosperity are often inequitably divided. Ideally, we want all parts of Malaysia to be equally developed. Every state in the federation should be as wealthy as the Klang Valley. The reality is that we have a long way to go”.
According to Mustapa, as part of the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP), the government intends to lower the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita difference between Peninsular Malaysia’s core area, which consists of the Klang Valley, Negeri Sembilan, and Melaka, and Sabah from 2.7% in 2020 to 2.5%. He noted that the government also plans to minimize the nation’s GDP per capita difference between Peninsular Malaysia’s core area and Sarawak to 1.2 percent from 1.3 percent in 2020.
