Urban and Rural Poverty
Although the apparent focus of government policy has been on addressing poverty in rural communities, commentators have argued that due to urbanisation — the proportion of Malaysians living in urban areas increasing from 27% in 1970 to 62% in 2000 — the urban communities have been unfairly neglected.
The official figure for urban poverty is given as 2%; critics have argued that this significantly underestimates urban poverty, as the poverty line is set at RM500 per month for a family of four — a monthly income which has been argued as unrealistically low for a family of four to meet its needs. A survey of Kuala Lumpur has suggested that about a quarter of the population lives in squatter settlements, which commentators like Bakri Musa have argued is a more reasonable estimate of the poverty rate. However,as of December 2007, the squatter settlement has been totally eradicated in the state of Selangor.
Prior to urbanisation, urban poverty was largely a problem confined to the non-Malay communities, as they were significantly urbanised at the time of independence. However, as Malay villagers migrated to the cities, the proportion of Malay poor has likewise increased.
Read more about this topic: Poverty In Malaysia
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