Anwar urges lawmakers to bring up poverty in Budget 2020 debates

Ahead of Budget 2020, Parliamentary Caucus on Reform and Governance chairperson Anwar Ibrahim organised a seminar on poverty today in the hopes that lawmakers across the political divide would bring up the issue in their upcoming debates.

Entitled the “Economy, Poverty and Disparity in Malaysia: Definition and Implementation”, the seminar featured presentations by economists Jomo Kwame Sundaram (Khazanah Research Institute) and Rajah Rasiah (Universiti Malaya Europe-Asia Institute).

It also heard comments on the state of poverty in the country from PKR’s Johari Abdul, DAP’s Lim Kit Siang, Amanah’s Mohamed Hanipa Maidin, Warisan’s Ma’mun Sulaiman, PAS’ Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man as well as PKR senator Mohd Yusmadi Mohd Yusoff.

Anwar, who is Port Dickson MP and PKR president, said he hoped the viewpoints shared at the seminar would aid the preparation of Budget 2020 and the 12th Malaysia Plan (RMK12).

He also urged the many MPs in the audience to raise what they heard today in the upcoming Dewan Rakyat sitting, which begins on Oct 7.

“I urge my friends here who are lawmakers to study these points so that your debates can be more serious.

“The strength of this session, though brief, is it is a reminder for us to remove ourselves from the old way of doing things when it comes to the economy and poverty,” he said in his closing remarks.

Resolutions

The seminar was held in response to UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights Philip Alston’s findings that Malaysia was severely undercounting its poor.

He had disputed official statistics that pegged the poverty rate at 0.4 percent (2016), contending that the real figure was closer to 15 percent.

At the time, Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali had defended the official poverty rate and refuted the UN envoy’s data.

Today, Anwar presented a list of “resolutions” which called for more attention to Alston’s findings.

Among others, it urged for a review of the national poverty rate and the poverty line.

It also called for effective anti-poverty measures to be implemented as well as economic growth that would ensure more equitable and inclusive growth for all Malaysians.  - Mkini

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