Malaysia Economic Monitor 2023

Malaysia Economic Monitor February 2023: Expanding Malaysia's Digital Frontier

Recovery remains uneven with poor and vulnerable groups experiencing slower recovery. The 3rd round of the World Bank’s High-Frequency (HiFy) Phone Survey showed that nearly 70 percent of lower-income households self-assessed themselves as having inadequate financial resources to meet their monthly basic needs, and more than 60 percent of these households reported having no savings. Recent increases in food and energy prices have further exacerbated the lingering effects of the pandemic on poor households.

A move toward targeted subsidies is required. Putting in plans to phase out blanket, broad-based subsidies and moving towards a more targeted subsidy framework that would benefit lower-income households is relevant and timely.

There is an ongoing need to better understand and properly measure poverty and inequality. This is so that responses and policies can be rolled out more effectively and equitably. The government is currently considering an update of its poverty line income and multidimensional poverty index. This is not only timely but also important to improve poverty measurement to a standard commensurate with Malaysia’s current living standards and state of development.