KUALA LUMPUR: Poverty will exist even if there are no longer any more hardcore poor households, the Dewan Rakyat was told today (March 14).
Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said this was because the poverty line changes according to the economic situation.
The poverty line refers to the official level of income that's needed to achieve a basic living standard.
Rafizi added that official reports on the number of hardcore poor people would inform government initiatives to eradicate poverty.
"In 2022, for example, 18,445 hardcore poor households were recorded by the government.
"(And) this is the number that the government will help come out of the category.
"Eradicating hardcore poverty does not mean poverty will not exist as it is relative.
"If (poverty does not exist), there will be no need for the government or for us to pay 'zakat'," he said during the minister's question time.
He was responding to Datuk Seri Ismail Abd Muttalib (PN-Maran), who asked whether the government's pledge to eradicate hardcore poverty was merely to "boost public morale".
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had in June vowed to end hardcore poverty by the end of last year.
He made the pledge again in July and said the government would focus on the Malay and Indian communities in the low-income bracket.
Households earning less than RM1,169 monthly are categorised as hardcore poor, Rafizi had told the Dewan Rakyat last week. Absolute poverty — the condition where an individual or a family does not make enough money to meet fundamental needs — covers those with incomes below RM2,208.