*Photo Credit: Nur Ismail Photography
Historically, since the introduction of the New Economic Policy 1971-1990 (NEP), Malaysia has demonstrated strong efforts in poverty eradication, especially in the context of rural poverty as the incidence is generally higher than its urban counterpart. Unfortunately this had pushed the issue of urban poverty to take a back seat.
However, with the rapid rates of urbanisation in recent years and the unprecedented presence of the Covid-19 pandemic, the rates of the urban poor in the country have swelled. While urban poverty in Malaysia may not be a serious phenomenon in comparison to rural poverty, it is far harsher. Due to the higher cost of living in urban areas, many households who earn incomes above the Poverty Line Index still do not have a decent access to basic amenities, healthcare and education.
The latest e-Kasih data verification shows that the number of poor and hardcore poor in Kuala Lumpur alone has recently increased to 10,200 families as announced by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for Economic Affairs. This calls for the need to discuss and reimagine ways we can effectively address urban poverty.
Thus, the Embassy of Belgium in Malaysia, Center for Market Education and Bait Al-Amanah, together are organising a webinar on “Re-examining Urban Poverty”,which will take place on the 15th of April 2021 (3-5pm) over Zoom. Our strategic partnership aims to uncover, raise awareness and discuss the radical ways in which we address the plight of those whose sufferings have often been left untold.
We are delighted to host His Excellency Mr. Pascal Gregoire, Ambassador of Belgium to Malaysia for the institutional address. After the address, Professor Dr. Fatimah binti Kari, Former Director of the Centre for Poverty and Development Studies (CPDS), Universiti Malaya will present on ‘The State of Urban Poverty in Malaysia’. This is followed by a presentation on ‘The Pandemic and Urban Poverty’, by Wan Ya Shin, Research Manager at Institute of Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS).
Prof. Datuk Dr. Denison Jayasooria, Honorary Professor at Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA), UKM will then present on ‘The New Paradigm in Urban Poverty Eradication’, while Dr. Carmelo Ferlito, CEO of Center for Market Education will present on ‘Urban Poverty: Strategy and Solution Directions’. The webinar will then continue with a round table discussion and end with a session for question and answers from the online participants.
Zoom registration will be limited to 100 people only. Link to the webinar will be emailed to participants who successfully registered. The webinar will also be broadcasted on our Facebook live for free with no participation limit. You may register for your participation at bit.ly/urbanpov. Registration is free.
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