POVERTY IN MALAYSIA

NAME: HAZWANI BT MOHD HATAR


Introduction of poverty
Background

Colonial term
After dependence 1957 the government while adopting a broadly laissez faire economy system, embarked on a development strategy specifically aimed at substantial economic growth. Strong efforts were made to strengthen the export economy, by expanding the existing rubber band tin industry and developing new primary products and manufacturing. The modern sector, producing manufactured goods and services was expected to attract a flow of population from traditional rural areas. A similar increase was observed among rural household, while for urban household the Gini coefficient rose by 15%. Real household incomes for the poorer sections of t5he population, for all ethnics groups, decline by 13% between 1957-1970

The New Economic Policy 1970-1990
Prior to 1971, economic development was concentrated in accelerating growth through investment in infrastructure, rural development and agriculture. One of the NEP objectives is to eradicate the absolute poverty. It has three elements, the first aimed at improving a wide range of free subsidized social service such as housing, public utilities, health and increased educational. Secondly increase productivity and income level of the poor by expanding their capital efficiently. Thirdly increase opportunities for inter-sector movements out of low productivity areas and activity. The necessary education, training, financial, and technical skills would be provided to facilitate movement into the modern sectors 0of the economy.


New development policy 1990-2000
Malaysia focus anti-poverty programs was eradicated at the hard –core poor. Effort to eradicate hard-core poverty was leaded by special programs known as the Development Program for the poorest. In alleviating poverty, the government implemented various programs and projects aimed at rural and agriculture households. Among others the poor participated and benefited from projects such as the Integrated Agricultural Development Project, the provision of agriculture infrastructure, are replanting schemes, land consolidation and rehabilitation, and support services. In addition, greater employment opportunities from off-farm and non farm activities helped to increase income of poor household.









Definition of poverty
In public policy analysis, we may use the following definition of poverty. An individual is poor if the fails to achieve a relevant set of elementary capabilities as a result of inadequate application of resources. Deprivation on the other hand refers to a failure to process such elementary capabilities for any reason whatever. For example, a wealthy individual who suffers from debilitating disease may be deprived of elementary capabilities and those we empirically identify where their failure is due to inadequate application of resources. Normative and practical judgments are inescapably required for both tasks.

Measures of poverty
It begins with the identification-who are the poor? A poverty line, i.e. the income level considered to be the borderline between the poor and the non poor, is identified and the part of the society with incomes below this line are deemed poor. A poverty line definition has been suggested reflecting different views of poverty. There are 2 approaches in defining this poverty line, depending on whether poverty is seen as absolute or relative deprivation. If it is view as absolute deprivation, the poverty is considered to be a relative concept, then the poverty line will be defined in relation to prevailing standards of living.




Ø Absolute Approach
It based on the concept of a minimum standard of living. The poverty line is the estimated cost of the bundle goods necessary to ensure that basic consumption requirements are met like food, housing, and clothing.

Ø Relative Approach
In essence, the relative approach considers a person poor when his income is significantly lower than a half the national average. The relative approach is divided to 2 parts that are urban poverty and rural poverty.














Important of the issues
Ø Basically we want to explore how many and which area in Malaysia are effected in poverty.
Ø Secondly we want to know how to overcome this problem from being worst.
Ø Thirdly we want to see the factors and effects that might occur in this issue.
Ø Last but not least we want to develop our country so that we will become stronger especially in economic system.
















Causes and effect of poverty
Causes of urban poverty
In town especially Kuala Lumpur the main cause the poverty are because lack of education, lack of job opportunities, large family size and lack of access to social facilities.
In the area of few of state such as Gombak, Selayang, Sungai Pencala, Segambut and Datuk Keramat they are having lack of access to public amenities utilities. In fact they are also poor at low level income and wealth.
Lot of people migrates from rural to urban area to find job and usually not all immigrants got job immediately.
In west Malaysia in especially in Sabah poor people are exists because of they concentrated on low wages industry. This all happened because the ethnic groups have low education
Economic interest is the dominant factor in pressuring the urbanization process at mega scale. The rapid rates of urbanization have swelled the ranks of the urban poor in the country.







Effects of urban poverty
The effect that we might see nowadays are as follow:

Unemployment
Most of the people who migrates from rural to urban area sometime they don’t find job because too much of them seeking for job and competition between them are high. The urban areas cannot fulfill rural people demand in giving job opportunities.

Social Problem
The poverty issues give such a big impact to the people who live in urban areas because at this time social problem might exist easily. For example drug addicted, illegal racing, and others. Thos problem will become serious if there is no cooperation from peoples outside and government.

Crime occur
When social problem exist automatically crime will also exist. This is due to lack of security. The issues of criminal that always been heard was rapes, murder, rape and etc.





Health problem
Disease uncontrolled activities are detectation in the urban area when many people in the rural area go to the urban. Disease control activities are also undertaken by local authorities with internal health inspectorates and play an important role in the detection and prevention of communicable diseases in urban and semi-urban areas.

Lack of education
Some of the parents they cannot afford their children to send them to school because low income or perhaps large family size. In urban the necessity and goods are sold at high price and that so difficult for them to give education for their children.










Causes or rural poverty

Rural poverty was largely a Malay problem as the majority of the rural population was Malay. The three main causes of rural were low production exploitation and neglect. The Malay were predominantly engaged in low agricultural and rural occupations and therefore received below average income.
The British colonial heritage laid the foundation for this situation. The Chinese found in commercially-oriented activities and Indians mainly in the plantation.
In addition government taxation policies like the rubber export tax and access levied on the rubber producers discriminated against small holders in favor of the plantation.
Unequal excess and opportunity low lower income levels led to low or none existence. In turn this resulted in their inability to bear the costs of education or migration, the two main means in the social mobility.
Low productivity associated with poverty was caused by lack of access to resources including jobs, education, credit, public housing.







Effects of the Rural Poverty

· Not enough money
Most of the people who live in the rural area they are facing with lack of technology to improve their crops. And this will be worst when poverty are occur because they don’t have enough financial sources to spend it purchasing the machinery.
For example in rural areas the development in agriculture rely much on the technology machinery to make sure the productivity that they produce can fulfill the demand of people in the whole country.
In fact, we also do some international trade in order fulfill the different demand of people. Some people maybe needs a few things that country cannot produce.

· Shortages of labor in agriculture sector
Young people are more comfortable working in the industrial sector rather than work in agriculture sectors. This effects bring the productivity farms are going slower day by day.
For example nowadays, the old people are monopoly some of the agriculture sector especially in producing rice.





· Lack of education
School that government always provide was located far away from the houses which was located in the rural areas. That is why some of them cannot send their children to school because they don’t have transport to do so.

· Lack of development in tourism
We can’t expand our tourism sector in order to attract people from outside to visit our country. Without this sector our country actually increases our expenditure.














Suggestions

· Programmed and projects
Government has introduced lot of programme to eradicate poverty. One of them is Development Programme for the poorest to overcome hardcore poverty. Besides they also focusing in the rural areas poverty and was set up programme called Integrated Agricultural Development Project with the motive for provision of agriculture infrastructures, replanting schemes and support service. Basically, anti poverty programme will target much on poorest states such as Kelantan and Kedah and districts as well as the Orang Asli community.
Malaysia had cooperated with few societies in order to make strategies which have been planned success. The list of Malysia cooperates are as below:

Ø United Nation Population Fund(UNFPA)
Ø Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific(ESCAP)
Ø Association of South East Asian Nations(ASEAN)
Ø World Health Organization
Ø United Nation Children Fund(UNICEF)






· Giving enough education
Government should encourage nation to always be prepared with education so that it can be use when we are trying to get job. The employer especially will hired peoples that have a good knowledge and able to handle whatever situation in works problem. So by having good education the risk to be chosen as a worker are high and automatically poverty will be avoided.

· Offer more jobs
Government can offer more jobs by create lot of sector especially in industrial and agriculture. By making this the chances to each of us to get jobs are high and can reduce competition among us. The chances to having a poverty life among us also can be reduce.

· Giving Subsidy to agricultural sectors
Government giving subsidy for those who are the beginners in this sector such as fertilizer, plant, machines, and training so that they will become success in that industry that they involved with.
In fact they can gain better standard of living because usually the demand in agricultural are high and the productivity can be much higher if the technological machines are being used.


· Industrial sectors expand in rural areas
More factories are building so that people from rural areas don’t need to migrate to the urban area to find the job. The poverty issues can be reducing slowly.

· Family Planning
Each couple that already getting married should been advise to make a family planning to control the large family members in the house. By making a planning spouse can giving fully attention in make their family members comfortable and enough necessities will be provided because they still can control their economy.
For example when a couple have already having a child they should do financial planning for their children in giving the education. This was practiced in Malaysia when government encourage parents to send their children to school when their children at the age of seven years old.
Another example that also quite good to be practice in Malaysia is like Singapore policy. The government in Singapore was set up a family planning to each couple. They can only having two children only.







· Encourage SME
Government are encourage student who already graduated from university involved in small medium industry to reduce poverty among Malaysian. Besides, people who live in the rural area also exposed in this industry to gain better life style. Nowadays we can see this industry are been monopoly by Malay people in order to increase economy. For example the UiTM was exposed to the entrepreneurship.

· Reduce number of foreign workers
Some company should hire local worker rather than foreign worker. A local worker should been giving a priorities to work in industrial sector in Malaysia.