RMK-12: Look beyond temporary financial relief for B40 communities

COVID-19 undoubtedly affected everyone across the nation, though some communities were hit worse than others. The economic downturn has left the marginalized communities in a bind as they get left behind. With already little to no personal savings because of their low income and low employment rate, they struggle to make ends meet. The pandemic has pushed many Malaysians into lower-income categories due to reduced income or complete loss of jobs. In 2020, there was an additional 12.5 per cent of households with income less than RM2,500. Meanwhile, 20.0 per cent of households from the M40 group with income between RM4,850 and RM10,959 have moved to the B40 group. Absolute poverty, based on the 2019 poverty income line threshold at RM2,208 a month, has risen to 8.4 per cent last year from 5.6 per cent of the year prior. (Department of Statistics Malaysia Official Portal) Though governmental and corporate aid programs are indeed useful and very much needed, we should look beyond providing short-term relief and look into the improvement and sustainability of the people’s financial situations. At present, there are several initiatives by both the government and companies to lessen the financial burden on poor individuals and families. The government has various financial aid such as the Pemulih stimulus package and Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat to provide cash relief to households and individuals. Many NGOs, communities and even individuals are also doing great work by providing aid to specific marginalised companies. With various NGOs, soup kitchens, community initiatives and fundraisers happening, it seems that everyone is uniting in an effort to help others without any agenda, regardless of politics, race and religion. Because poverty doesn’t discriminate. On the topic of tackling Malaysia’s poverty and economic issues, there are a few key areas that we should focus on: 1. Generating employment opportunities
 2. Increasing employability and efficiency of the labour market
 3. Empower and build the capacity of those in poverty to raise their income earning potential Addressing the aforementioned areas is vital in helping struggling communities. Though social care programmes are still important and beneficial, helping others to rise from the poverty trap and better their financial and employment situations is more sustainable for the long term. Organisations such as People Systems Consultancy (PSC) provide (sponsored/ funded) programmes with no charge to the participants to aid identified communities and groups. Through programmes such as the Entrepreneurial Equalisation, participants were taught new skills and participated in training sessions and mentorship, with an average of 70% successfully becoming more self-reliant and increasing their income as much as 100% to 400% within 3 to 6 months. Likewise, there should be increased support for individuals in marginalized communities to upskill and find new opportunities in order to make a living. The focus should be on building sustainable income for the marginalized and making communities self-reliant. The government can collaborate with NGOs and other enterprises similar to PSC to have programmes that empower entrepreneurs and individuals to gain financial freedom and not just about getting hired. This can be done through running national or regional competitive campaigns to provide capital specifically to entrepreneurs to start/grow their businesses. Another option would be to conceptualise and roll out training modules on a larger scale, making such programmes more accessible and available to people from various backgrounds. As we collaborate and strive to revitalise our economy and to bridge the gap between rich and poor in our nation, we must ensure that we do not leave any group behind.

---

* Raymond Dinesh Gabriel is the Co-founder and Executive Director of People Systems Consultancy, a leading social enterprise with branches in Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Laos, as well as joint ventures in New Zealand and France. **The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of Astro AWANI.