The United Nations (UN) created the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 as a strategy to draw attention to the environmental and social problems that require action on the part of all nations.
These ambitious 17 goals are scheduled to be completed in 2030, seven years from now. The first of the SDGs is “No Poverty”, with the objective of eliminating all forms of poverty, worldwide.
The inability of a person or family to meet necessities like nutrition from food, clothes, a home or protection, education, among others, is known as poverty.
While the poor in some parts of India lacked National Identification Cards (NICs) which prevented them from receiving government assistance, or even opening personal bank accounts, some regions in the African continent still lacked access to the banking system, leaving them without even a bank account.
In Malaysia, the government spends a lot of money annually to bring people out of absolute poverty, and it shows success when people begin to rise above the poverty line.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic has unravelled these accomplishments and pulled the poor back into poverty. The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) reported that there were 57.8 per cent more newly impoverished people after Covid-19, with the number of poor households rising from 405,400 in 2019, to 639,800 in 2020.
To reach zero poverty, we need to eliminate extreme poverty for all individuals who live below the global poverty line worldwide, by 2030.
According to the DOSM’s 2021 study, the average Malaysian household living in poverty in 2016 was US$1.90 per day, while it was US$2.15 per day in 2019.
The percentage of households living below the international poverty line remained constant between 2016 and 2019, at 0.02 per cent.
The outcome demonstrates that Malaysia’s administration has made every effort to address the country’s poverty issues – despite the fact that the global poverty threshold rose from US$1.90 per day to US$2.15 per day in 2019, with the overall percentage remaining the same.
The percentage of Malaysian households living below the national poverty line decreased from 7.6 per cent in 2016, to 5.6 per cent in 2019, according to DOSM statistics.
However, due to Covid-19, the incidence rate increased to 8.4 per cent in 2020. These results demonstrate that the pandemic had a significant influence on society, with more individuals being forced into poverty.
From 2019 through 2021, the government provided help to four groups of people: children, the elderly, foster children, and disabled workers. Elderly recipients received the largest allocation of funds, totalling RM1,986,869.40 over a three-year period.
In 2021, the government provided aid to 298,408 people in order to lessen their financial burden. This demonstrates that the government is genuinely committed to eliminating poverty while also achieving the first SDG, which is to eradicate all forms of poverty.
Malaysia encountered numerous challenges in its efforts to eradicate poverty.
In Malaysia, having a good education and interpersonal skills are essential for landing a job. Financial literacy is also crucial for managing one’s hard-earned money.
People who lack education cannot apply for jobs or other positions. As a result, they do not have a steady source of income to support themselves and their family, and will eventually fall into poverty.
The other factor is Malaysian wages are low and do not commensurate with the work done. People are forced to work continuously and sacrifice their free time in order to support themselves. Some people choose not to work, and instead, rely solely on their parents for financial assistance.
Since they use their earnings to cover their essential expenses, they have neither savings, nor life insurance. These vulnerable groups will be impacted by economic downturns and Covid-19.
The lack of development in rural areas has forced individuals to relocate to urban areas, where they hope to improve their lives and find employment that pays well. However, not all dreams come true; many migrants to Kuala Lumpur find low-paying employment, which causes them to become urban poor and unable to save enough money to support themselves.
In Sabah and Sarawak, facilities such as roads and bridges are still inadequate, preventing children from attending school, and microbusinesses from selling their products outside of the community.
But there are ways out of this quandary.
For starters, Malaysia has the potential to be a high-income nation. However, the wealth disparity between the rich and the poor must be narrowed.
The government’s policies must be reorganised, with a greater emphasis on rural development. Economic activities in rural areas must be re-energised through the injection of grants and microfinance loans for microbusinesses to expand and create additional jobs.
With the development of rural areas, new generations will have the opportunity to farm land and start businesses in their villages, rather than relocating to cities. This will help keep people out of cities and reduce urban poverty.
Improving access to school for children living in rural areas will help them acquire an education, increase their chances of getting jobs, and reduce poverty.
The federal government must also make sure that there is no prejudice in the way the states are developed. Those in power must uphold the system of federalism and act professionally. The states’ development will be hampered by the lack of progress.
The objective of achieving “No Poverty” in Malaysia, and other parts of the world, is still a long way off, and the aspiration of achieving it by 2030 is unrealistic.
However, efforts to reduce poverty must be maintained and expanded so that the poor can escape the poverty trap.
Dr Rulia Akhtar is a research fellow at the Ungku Aziz Centre for Development Studies in Universiti Malaya.
This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Twentytwo13.
