KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 24): A paradigm shift is needed for inclusive social protection in Malaysia and the government needs to build a more resilient system to ensure both the younger and older generations receive support to overcome the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, said Hawati Abdul Hamid, deputy research director at Khazanah Research Institute.
INSUFFICIENT savings, lack of social protection, income shock and sudden job loss due to the Covid-19 outbreak have exposed more Malaysians to poverty, especially those whose income have been hovering around the poverty line pre-pandemic.The Department of Statistics last month revealed that Malaysia’s unemployment rate increased to 5.3% in May 2020 from 5% in April 2020 as the number of unemployed persons rose by 47,300 to 826,100 individuals the highest rate in 27 years.Khazanah Research Institute (KRI) senior research associate Hawati Abdul Hamid said many households in Malaysia are very vulnerable to fall into poverty this year.Based on the revised methodology, she explained the poverty rate is estimated to be at 5.6% in 2019 with the poverty line income (PLI) average of RM2,208.