Poverty Rehabilitation And Management (Malaysia)
A lot has been said about eradicating poverty with countless programs and Government agencies with billions in aid disbursements, subsidies etc given to the targeted group in an effort to reduce poverty and increase the economic opportunities for the lower income group in Malaysia.
The whole effort can be deemed somewhat successful thus far but a lot can still be improved upon to grow the income for the targeted group. Here are a few suggestions just based on my experience of being in the B40 range in terms of median income as prescribed by the Department Of Statistics Malaysia.
Firstly there must be structural changes made to be more pro active and not reactive as presently done. Here are a few ideas from me as to how this can be achieved with minimal cost to the Government:-
1- Overhaul the data collection methods with input from real time sources as opposed to last years statistics.
This can be achieved using technology with a simple app that can be downloaded by anyone with a mobile phone to send the data in real time to be studied immediately and acted upon in real time as to their location, race, employment etc.These data can then be mined and sorted to formulate tailor made Programs relevant for the recipients as opposed to the one size fits all old way of the past. With this efficient use of technology any Programs identified and implemented can be easily monitored and tweaked according to the present circumstance.
2- Dedicate only ONE Agency to handle the funding etc and not multiple Agencies and/or Ministries with overlapping functions.
By eliminating Red Tape any action plan can be adjusted and implemented way faster than presently possible. Having a sole agency in charge would also mean that accountability is easier to manage. And this Agency will be able to react in real time to any changes in the economic situation at any particular time.
And this will also allow for faster and easier communication with other relevant Ministries should they be needed to provide assistance for their respective specialties.
3- Allow Private Companies, Organizations and Individuals to participate on a voluntary basis by having their representative sit on the Board of the New Agency created.
This will allow better engagement with all interested stakeholders and ensure oversight and transparency in the Agencies work and budget as well as allowing any impact assessments to be done quicker. Also it will allow for more creativity in planning for any Programs.
4- Appoint and train Community Leaders in all Districts to monitor and advise participants of the Programs throughout it's implementation and provide one Laptop for them to write and submit their reports on a monthly basis and budget required for them to effectively carry out their tasks.
With a trained local participant monitoring and advising chances are higher that the Programs being implemented will be successful within that community.
5- Consolidate all Poverty Reduction funds into the New Agency.
This is to ensure that the operations will not be stymied by the often long and cumbersome fund approval process as is happening now. Often funding takes forever with multiple approval processes that is time consuming and wasteful.
6- Open up communications channel with the target group and engage them before implementing any ideas.
Often we view actions on poverty reduction through our own bias and not according to what is most needed on the ground and therefore ultimately unhelpful in the long run to the target group with half baked ideas and one size fits all solutions. By engaging the target group and having frank discussions a better picture will emerge for all and ideation can be done in a more wholistic manner taking into account all stake holders view.
These are just a few ideas that we should consider to allow for a more focused approached in dealing with poverty in Malaysia. I'm sure there are way more qualified people than me but having been the recipient of some of the programs before I am speaking from my personal experience.
Being poor is never a choice for anyone and no one with dignity wishes to accept handouts unless the situation demands it just to survive. Nobody understands poverty unless they've been there, and it's hard enough to be poor without also being misunderstood
The whole effort can be deemed somewhat successful thus far but a lot can still be improved upon to grow the income for the targeted group. Here are a few suggestions just based on my experience of being in the B40 range in terms of median income as prescribed by the Department Of Statistics Malaysia.
Firstly there must be structural changes made to be more pro active and not reactive as presently done. Here are a few ideas from me as to how this can be achieved with minimal cost to the Government:-
1- Overhaul the data collection methods with input from real time sources as opposed to last years statistics.
This can be achieved using technology with a simple app that can be downloaded by anyone with a mobile phone to send the data in real time to be studied immediately and acted upon in real time as to their location, race, employment etc.These data can then be mined and sorted to formulate tailor made Programs relevant for the recipients as opposed to the one size fits all old way of the past. With this efficient use of technology any Programs identified and implemented can be easily monitored and tweaked according to the present circumstance.
2- Dedicate only ONE Agency to handle the funding etc and not multiple Agencies and/or Ministries with overlapping functions.
By eliminating Red Tape any action plan can be adjusted and implemented way faster than presently possible. Having a sole agency in charge would also mean that accountability is easier to manage. And this Agency will be able to react in real time to any changes in the economic situation at any particular time.
And this will also allow for faster and easier communication with other relevant Ministries should they be needed to provide assistance for their respective specialties.
3- Allow Private Companies, Organizations and Individuals to participate on a voluntary basis by having their representative sit on the Board of the New Agency created.
This will allow better engagement with all interested stakeholders and ensure oversight and transparency in the Agencies work and budget as well as allowing any impact assessments to be done quicker. Also it will allow for more creativity in planning for any Programs.
4- Appoint and train Community Leaders in all Districts to monitor and advise participants of the Programs throughout it's implementation and provide one Laptop for them to write and submit their reports on a monthly basis and budget required for them to effectively carry out their tasks.
With a trained local participant monitoring and advising chances are higher that the Programs being implemented will be successful within that community.
5- Consolidate all Poverty Reduction funds into the New Agency.
This is to ensure that the operations will not be stymied by the often long and cumbersome fund approval process as is happening now. Often funding takes forever with multiple approval processes that is time consuming and wasteful.
6- Open up communications channel with the target group and engage them before implementing any ideas.
Often we view actions on poverty reduction through our own bias and not according to what is most needed on the ground and therefore ultimately unhelpful in the long run to the target group with half baked ideas and one size fits all solutions. By engaging the target group and having frank discussions a better picture will emerge for all and ideation can be done in a more wholistic manner taking into account all stake holders view.
These are just a few ideas that we should consider to allow for a more focused approached in dealing with poverty in Malaysia. I'm sure there are way more qualified people than me but having been the recipient of some of the programs before I am speaking from my personal experience.
Being poor is never a choice for anyone and no one with dignity wishes to accept handouts unless the situation demands it just to survive. Nobody understands poverty unless they've been there, and it's hard enough to be poor without also being misunderstood
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