KUALA LUMPUR:Nearly everyone is feeling the pinch stemmed from the pandemic but the intensity of suffering and difficulties varies across individuals. That explains why government assistance has become more targeted to the needy ones as we continue to weather through the crisis such as the urban poor. So long as the economic uncertainty remains, this effort should be persistent but data accuracy needs to be given serious attention to ensure no one is excluded from the assistance that they deserve and need.
The difficulties experienced by the rakyat are more evident as most states are currently under blanket Movement Control Order (MCO 2.0) due to local Covid-19 cases remaining at four-digit.
Although the impact is said not to be as severe as in MCO 1.0 because more economic sectors are allowed to operate, some businesses can’t seem to escape from being negatively impacted due to the need to adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) such as physical distancing and many have started working from home, and inter-state travel has been banned.
For instance, it was recently mentioned by the Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa that and reported by Bernama that there are more than 30,000 households out of the total population in the capital that have incomes below the poverty line of RM2,208, according to estimates.
If we look at the mean poverty line income in Kuala Lumpur only, it is slightly higher at RM2,216. Based on the revised income group classification by DOSM, in Kuala Lumpur only, households earning below RM9,150 are already considered B40.
Annuar Musa also added that this group of households cannot even afford the necessities such as food, clothes and shelter.
The inability to afford these daily needs for the household, the prolonged financial anxiety and the need to adapt to the new environment whereby almost everything goes online would lead to other consequences which are already happening around us such as mental health, particularly for those who are underprivileged.
Nonetheless, the exact number of families which fall under this category cannot be confirmed as various agencies are currently managing the matter like Department of Social Welfare, Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council and Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department.
The dire situation could be explained given the higher cost of living that need to be shouldered by the people living in cities and it has been worsened by the pandemic.
This specific situation can be supported by the findings of EMIR Research Quarterly Poll for fourth quarter of 2020 (4Q20) which have just been released and reflective of the ground reality based the responses from 1,976 respondents coming from all states in the country.
Based on the poll, 76 per cent of respondents experienced negative impact in terms of jobs whilst 74 per cent agreed that economy was badly impacted due to Covid-19 pandemic. To go into more details, findings have also shown that the impact was felt more by the urban respondents.
In terms of the direction of the country and economy, majority of respondents remain unsure when they are asked whether the country is on the right track (48 per cent vs. 54 per cent in 3Q20) and whether the economy is on a strong footing (45 per cent vs 53 per cent in 3Q20).
Additionally, to support the evidence that it appears harder in economic perspective for the urbanites, the poll was joined by a larger share of urban respondents (70.5 per cent) which is not too far from the real population of urban and rural in Malaysia – 76.6 per cent and 23.4 per cent respectively in 2019, according to the World Bank data.
These statistics call for urgent need to lend a helping hand to the vulnerable and low-income earners living in the cities as their low wages do not go together with the continuous rise in cost of living.
Therefore, the recent launch of 5MY Programme that was introduced last year and implemented by Federal Territories Ministry is welcomed in effort to eradicate urban poverty through five initiatives – employment through MYJob@Wilayah, schooling (MYSchoolBus@Wilayah), basic necessities (MYGrocer@Wilayah), food supplies (MYFood@Wilayah) and medicine (MYMedic@Wilayah).
These initiatives are also accompanied by a new additional initiative known as MYBeras@Wilayah whereby over 5,000 bags of rice will be distributed to the urban poor per week, an increase from 3,000 previously.
As a yardstick for these initiatives, it was stated by the Prime Minister that over 35,000 people and head of households, as well as residents of 331 low-cost housing areas in Kuala Lumpur (KL) have benefitted from the 5MY programme last year.
Under MYJob@Wilayah, it has provided 3,259 employment opportunities last year and hopefully, this initiative would help a greater number of urban poor in a more sustainable way. To do this, job opportunities should be coupled with appropriate wages at least to afford basic needs (above minimum wage level).
Perhaps to help them demand for high wages, the urban poor needs to be educated or equipped with relevant skills that is required by the sectors they are involved in.
Another important area to improve on further is the accuracy of data for urban poor population not only in KL but also in other states since it was mentioned by the Minister that an exact number of families could not be confirmed due to the involvement of several agencies.
There should be a single platform whereby each participating agency can consistently share and update their statistics on the urban poor to ensure there are no overlaps and, sufficient and appropriate assistance will reach those who are in need.
Sofea Azahar is Research Analyst at EMIR Research, a think tank focused on strategic policy recommendations based on rigorous research.
** The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of Astro AWANI.
Sofea Azahar
Tue Feb 02 2021
The difficulties experienced by the rakyat are more evident as most states are currently under blanket Movement Control Order (MCO 2.0) due to local COVID-19 cases remaining at four-digit. AWANIpic
Chegubard didakwa di Mahkamah Sesyen KL esok - Peguam
Badrul Hisham Shaharin atau dikenali Chegubard akan didakwa di Mahkamah Sesyen Kuala Lumpur esok atas pertuduhan memfitnah dan menghasut.
Pulau Pinang, kerajaan pusat bekerjasama tarik pelaburan semikonduktor
Kerajaan Pulau Pinang akan bekerjasama dengan Kerajaan Persekutuan untuk meneruskan usaha menarik pelaburan dalam sektor semikonduktor, termasuk segmen reka bentuk litar bersepadu (IC) di negeri itu.
Rakyat Malaysia di Jordan jadi duta produk PMKS negara
Menteri Pembangunan Usahawan dan Koperasi Datuk Ewon Benedick menyarankan rakyat Malaysia yang menetap di Jordan supaya memainkan peranan sebagai “duta” untuk mempromosikan produk perusahaan mikro kecil dan sederhana (PMKS) SERTA koperasi negara.
Mohamed Khaled tiba di Indonesia, dijadual bertemu Prabowo
Menteri Pertahanan Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin tiba di Jakarta hari ini untuk lawatan kerja rasmi sulung beliau ke Indonesia sejak memegang jawatan itu.
SPRM mohon maklumat dari Jerman
Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) memohon maklumat terkini daripada pihak berkuasa Jerman mengenai dana bon 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) yang dipercayai digunakan untuk membeli kereta mewah di negara itu pada 26 Okt 2022.
SPRM siasat pemimpin kanan di utara tanah air
Seorang pemimpin kanan di utara tanah air disiasat Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) kerana disyaki melantik beberapa syarikat yang mempunyai kepentingan dengannya membabitkan beberapa projek pembekalan melibatkan peruntukan kira-kira RM300,000.
Kembangkan kandungan tempatan melalui AI
Menurut Setiausaha Agung Organisasi Kerjasama Digital (DCO) Deemah Al Yahya, terdapat 2.7 peratus daripada penduduk dunia tidak berhubung malah tidak mempunyai sambungan asas internet. Beliau turut berkata infrastruktur pengkomputeran setiap negara perlu mempunyai kemampuan untuk mengembangkan kandungan tempatan khususnya yang melibatkan penggunaan AI.
AI tidak dapat ganti guru
Menteri Pendidikan Rwanda, Gaspard Twagirayezu berkata kepesatan teknologi AI dalam pendidikan tidak dapat menggantikan guru malah membantu guru dalam menyediakan bahan pengajaran yang bermanfaat kepada pelajar.
Berita tempatan pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Berikut adalah berita yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang Ahad, 28 April 2024.
Mesyuarat Khas WEF: Dunia perlukan persaingan sihat dalam transisi ke Orde Baharu - Menteri Luar Arab Saudi
Menteri Luar Negeri Arab Saudi, Putera Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud berkata dunia memerlukan persaingan sihat dalam transisi daripada Orde Dunia Lama kepada Orde Baharu. Jelasnya, persaingan ini akan memberi manfaat dalam bentuk kos pengeluaran lebih rendah, perkembangan inovasi dan pelaburan lebih baik. #MesyuaratKhasWEF #WEF
Annuar Musa sedia kembali ke politik jika dipelawa menjadi calon
"Memaksa diri untuk (dicalon atau bertanding) bukan cara saya."
Rafizi bidas Annuar Musa dakwa kerajaan gagal kawal ekonomi
Rafizi berkata, keutamaan dalam 2023 adalah menstabilkan harga barang dengan menurunkan inflasi kerana ia membolehkannya tidak terus melonjak naik sepertimana dialami kerajaan sebelum ini.
Pengarah Hydroshoppe dapatkan pasport untuk lawatan kerja
Mahkamah membenarkan Pengarah Hydroshoppe, Datuk Abdul Hamid Shaikh Abdul Razak Shaikh mendapatkan sementara pasport.
Nik Elin sah ahli Muafakat Nasional
Peguam, Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid mengesahkan beliau merupakan ahli Muafakat Nasional (MN).
Annuar Musa bidas Rafizi, tegaskan Pas paling tersusun
Annuar membidas kenyataan Timbalan Presiden Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Rafizi Ramli berhubung dakwaan parti Islam berkenaan tidak mempunyai kekuatan organisasi dan kelebihan bakat.
Shahidan, Annuar dilantik AJK Pas Pusat
Pelantikan tersebut dicadangkan serta dipersetujui berdasarkan peruntukan Fasal 25 dan 26 Perlembagaan parti berkenaan.
Politik tidak akan stabil selagi Melayu tak bersatu - Annuar
Melayu sebagai kaum majoriti mesti menjadi teras atau tapak utama dalam landskap politik Malaysia yang mempunyai kuasa dominan.
PRK di Johor sambungan referendum rakyat - Annuar
Annuar berkata, tidak lengkap referendum itu sekiranya tidak disertai rakyat Johor yang turut memberi isyarat sama.
Pengarah syarikat gagal batal tuduhan tawar suapan berhubung ambil alih konsesi Menara KL
Mahkamah hari ini menolak permohonan seorang pengarah syarikat untuk membatalkan pertuduhan menawarkan suapan RM500,000 berhubung proses pengambilalihan konsesi Menara Kuala Lumpur.
PRN: Eizlan Yusof hilang suara bantu kempen
Datuk Seri Eizlan Yusof, 52, hampir hilang suara susulan turut berkempen bersama-sama Tan Sri Annuar Musa untuk Perikatan Nasional (PN) sempena pilihan raya negeri (PRN) sejak Julai lalu.