Average monthly Malaysian household income hits RM5,000

The 2012 Household Income Survey found the average monthly income of Malaysian households rising from RM4,025 in 2009 to RM5,000 in 2012, an increase of 7.2 per cent annually.

In announcing the statistics here today, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said the urban household monthly income increased at a rate of 6.6 per cent a year from RM4,705 in 2009 to RM5,742 last year, while the rural household monthly income rose 6.4 per cent annually from RM2,545 to RM3,080.

"The signficant income rise was achieved with the federal government's efforts in ensuring continuous, stable and strong growth in the economy.

The impact was via widespread increase in economic opportunities which generated employment with business and industrial development in various economic sectors," he said.

Nor Mohamed said all states also recorded better average monthly household incomes with Kuala Lumpur leading with the highest growth of 14.9 per cent from RM5,488 to RM8,586.

He said this was followed by Labuan with 12 per cent from RM4,407 to RM6,317, Perlis with 10.1 per cent from RM2,617 to RM3,538, Terengganu 9.1 per cent from RM3,017 to RM3,967, and Negeri Sembilan and Sabah from RM3,540 to RM4,576 and from RM3,102 to RM4,013 respectively.

On the ethnic breakdown, Indians recorded the highest increase in monthly household income at 9 per cent from RM3,999 to RM5,233, followed by the Chinese at 8 per cent from RM5,011 to RM6,366 and Bumiputeras, 6.9 per cent from RM3,624 to RM4,457.

There was also a significant reduction in the overall incidence of poverty from 3.8 per cent in 2009 to 1.7 per cent last year, with the total number of household poor plunging 52.7 per cent from 228,400 to 108,000 in the same period.

"With these achievements, the Tenth Malaysia Plan's target of reducing overall poverty to 2 per cent by 2015 had been met three years earlier. This is the result of rapid national economic growth as well as the effectiveness of the poverty eradication programmes implemented by the government," Nor Mohamed said.

He said the overall incidence of poverty in the urban areas contracted from 1.7 per cent to 1 per cent while the rural area rate was slashed to 3.4 per cent from 8.4 per cent.

He said the Bumiputera poverty rate went down from 5.3 per cent to 2.2 per cent, the Chinese moderated from 0.6 per cent to 0.3 per cent and the Indians receded from 2.5 per cent to 1.8 per cent.

"Sabah emerged as the best performing state in poverty eradication with its poverty rate falling from 19.7 per cent to 8.1 per cent, followed by Perlis from 6 per cent to 1.9 per cent and Terengganu from 4 per cent to 1.7 per cent, while Putrajaya achieved zero-poverty status last year," he added.