1. SECOND ASEAN PLUS THREE HIGH-LEVEL SEMINAR ON POVERTY ALLEVIATION
25TH -29th SEPTEMBER 2006
THE MINISTRY OF RURAL AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT (MRRD)
MALAYSIA

2. POVERTY ALLEVIATION: MALAYSIAN EXPERIENCE

3. OUTLINE Objective Introduction 1. Brief on Malaysia
2. Poverty in Malaysia
3. Rural Transformation in Malaysia
Poverty Reduction Policies, Strategies and Programs in Malaysia
Achievements of Poverty Eradication Programs
Key Success Factors
Conclusion

4. OBJECTIVE
To present the Malaysian experience in poverty reduction that could be shared among the member countries of ASEAN Plus Three

5. MALAYSIA IN THE WORLD
MALAYSIA

6. MAP OF MALAYSIA Peninsular Sabah Sarawak Area = 330,242 sq. km
Population 2003 = 24.5 million
Indigenous Group – 66.1%
Chinese -25.3%
Indian – 7.4%
Others – 1.2%

7. DEFINITION OF POVERTY Absolute Poverty
Lack of income to acquire minimum necessities of life
Poverty Line Income (PLI) – a minimum income level needed by a household to meet its basic expenditure on food and non-food, required for a decent standard of living
PLI (2004):
Peninsular Malaysia – RM661/US$174
Sabah – RM888/US$233
Sarawak – RM765/US$201

8. Linked to the notion of income disparity between groups
Cont..
Relative Poverty
Linked to the notion of income disparity between groups
Measured by Income Disparity Ratios between groups
Examples: The top 20 and bottom 30% of the population or between the various ethnic groups or between the urban and rural dwellers

9. MALAYSIA : EVOLUTION AND TRANSFORMATION OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
FIRST
TRANSFORMATION
( )
NPSRD
Towards
2020
SECOND
TRANSFORMATION
(1994 – 2020) . . . . .
1957
1971
1991
1994
2000
2010
2020
PRE-NEP
Growth
Focus on Basic and Minimum Needs at Grassroots Level
Agriculture the Prime Economic Activities
RED Book Implementation & Monitoring system
NEP :
Growth with Equity
Creation of New Agencies
Aggressive Poverty Redressal
New Land Development/In-Situ
Subsidised Services
NDP :
Balance Growth
Streamlining and Rationalizing of Roles of Agencies
Commercialization of Agriculture/Market Driven Approach
Relative Poverty/ Focus on Hardcore Poverty
NVP :
Sustainable
Development
To Create a Rural Setting that is Developed, Attractive and Profitable
Reduction of Poverty and eradication of Hardcore poverty
Focus on Human and Economic Development

10. THE 7 INITIATIVES UNDER THE SECOND RURAL TRANSFORMATION
Nurturing Excellent Individuals
Strengthening the Well-being of Family Institutions
Developing a Resilient Society
Providing Quality Infrastructure, utilities & amenities
Developing a Sustainable Economy
Providing Effective Delivery System
Developing Institutional Framework which are Responsive to Changes

11. POLICIES AND STRATEGIES
Increase opportunities for inter-sectoral movements of the poor from low productivity to higher productivity economic activities
Increase the productivity and income of low productivity occupations through skill training, adoption of modern techniques and facilities and using higher yielding

12. CATEGORIES OF POOR HOUSEHOLDS
Households who earned a monthly income less than the specified PLI
Hardcore poor
Households whose earned monthly income less than the specified for the hardcore poor (food PLI)

13. MALAYSIA: INCIDENCE OF POVERTY AND HARDCORE POVERTY, 2004
STATE
POOR
HARDCORE POOR
Urban
Rural
Overall
Johor
1.0
4.2
2.0
0.2
0.5
0.3
Kedah
3.0
9.8
7.0
1.8
1.3
Kelantan
8.3
11.8
10.6
0.8
1.5
Melaka
Negeri Sembilan
2.5
1.4 -
0.4
Pahang
1.1
5.6
4.0
1.6
Pulau Pinang
0.1
0.7
Perak
2.2
9.5
4.9
2.6
Perlis
5.2
6.9
5.3
1.7
Selangor
3.7
0.0
Terengganu
10.9
20.4
15.4
2.9
5.9
4.4
W.P. Kuala Lumpur
Peninsular Malaysia
7.9
3.6
Sabah & Labuan
12.9
35.6
23.0
2.4
11.6
6.5
Sarawak
7.5
2.1
Malaysia
11.9
5.7
1.2
Source: Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister’s Department

14. POVERTY REDUCTION PROGRAMMES POVERTY REDUCTION PROGRAMMES
RESETTLEMENT
SUPPORT FACILITIES
IN-SITU
DEVELOPMENT
POVERTY REDUCTION PROGRAMMES
INCORPORATE
TRAINING
INTEGRATING
AGRICULTURAL/
DOWNSTREAM
PROCESSING
FARMERS’ MARKETS
IN URBAN CENTERS
TO ENABLE
DOUBLE
CROPPING,
INTER-CROPPING
AND MIXED
FARMING

15. PEOPLE’S WELL-BEING DEVELOPMENT SCHEME
INCOME GENERATIG PROGRAM
SKILL TRAINING & CAREER DEVELOPMET PROGRAM
EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
CHILD NURSERY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
MIND-SET CHANGE PROGRAM
PROGRAMMES
COMMUNITY RESETTLEMENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
DIETARY FOOD SUPPLEMENT PROGRAM

16. DATA BANK FOR HARDCORE POOR
Hardcore Poor Registry (on-line computerized Hardcore Poor Profile)
The Right Targeting and Matching of profile and project (based on needs)
Streamlining all the assistance by various Ministries and Agencies

17. ACHIEVEMENTS OF POVERTY ERADICATION PROGRAMS
1970
1990
2000
2002
2004
Incidence Of Poverty
58.7
21.8
7.5
5.1
5.7
No. of Poor Households
705.9
530.3
360.1
267.9
311.3
Incidence of Hardcore Poverty -
5.2
1.4
1.0
1.2
No. of Hardcore Poor Households
66.0
52.9
67.3
Total Households
1,203.4
2,431.9
4,800.0
5,220.6
5,459.4
Notes: The increase in 2004 due to revision on PLI measurement

18. RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND UTILITIES
Rural Water Supply (92%-99%) coverage
Rural Electricity (78%-99%) coverage
Village Roads (35,551 km)
Rural Roads (1,000 km)

19. CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS
Political and economic stability
Full commitment of the political and administrative leaders
- Continuous budgetary support
- Administrative machinery geared for development
Rural development and poverty eradication are integral and critical components of national development plan
Clear and explicit policy statements.
Clear identification of target groups, clear matching of programmes and needs of target groups
Government plays the leading role in rural development and at the same time encourages private and NGO sectors involvement.

20. CONCLUSION
Balance development – strong and real emphasis on equitable distribution of development benefits
Target-specific - addressing issues on the pockets of poverty
The philosophy of development, growth with equity is integrated in all the Malaysian development policies.

21. Thank
You