COMMENT | Poverty is the key issue facing Malaysia today and deserves to be looked at much more closely than the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) has.

There is little point in fixating on the transformation of the economy if there is a growing incidence of poverty left out of focus.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob recently noted that because of the pandemic, the landscape has changed. There are people in the B40 (low income) category who are now considered in poverty.

Some previously in the M40 (middle) income bracket are now in the B40 group. Under 12MP, the target is to eradicate hardcore poverty by the end of 2025.

Despite the proliferation of programmes - a total of 167 programmes across ministries and departments, involving 13.7 million aid recipients with a value of RM28.6 billion - the 12MP fails to address the poverty landscape that the prime minister described.

It is doomed to failure if it does not correct the anomalies and shortcomings listed below.

Contesting the poverty numbers

Malaysia’s five-year plans have...