Anwar told the Dewan Rakyat it was wrong to claim that only Malays are being helped, and insisted that Putrajaya’s policy is to assist any citizen who is struggling.
He said that while Malays constitute the largest number of those living in poverty, the Indian community also has a significant number of people in the same situation, particularly in the Klang Valley.
“It is simply not true to say that (government) assistance is only for Malays. Anyone who falls into the category of hardcore poverty, as long as they are citizens, must be assisted without discrimination,” he said.
“I hope this explanation is clear. If there are any statements to the contrary, please inform me as this is against our policy.”
Anwar was responding to a question from S Kesavan (PH-Sungai Siput) about efforts to assist poor Indians.
He also denied the opposition’s claim that the government has failed to eradicate poverty as planned, saying that progress depended on the accuracy of the data provided.
He said the current poverty data came from the previous Perikatan Nasional administration and state governments, and noted that 65.6% of the 22,893 hardcore poor cases had been resolved as of Aug 1.
Anwar also said the government was moving towards a per capita calculation to measure poverty instead of relying on household income.
“For a household of four earning RM2,000, their disposable income is about RM500. If the household grows to eight, it drops to RM250. That’s why per capita calculations are more accurate,” he said.
Separately, he said he will consider measures to ensure the government’s cash aid programmes for the poor take into account the rising costs of living, as suggested by Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muda-Muar).
Syed Saddiq had called on the government to automatically increase cash aid based on inflation or on a regular schedule, instead of waiting for each budget announcement.
Anwar said the idea was worth studying, adding that RM3 billion from the savings derived from cutting back on subsidies had already been set aside for helping the poor through the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) programme, with more funds going to education and healthcare.
“Even though we are working to reduce our deficit and debt, we have still managed to increase the budget for these programmes, using the savings and extra revenue,” he said.
Syed Saddiq had earlier praised Anwar for allowing more people to qualify for help and raising the total aid to RM13 billion in the 2025 budget, from RM10 billion in this year’s budget,
Anwar, who tabled the 2025 budget last Friday, said the RM13 billion in aid would benefit nine million recipients, or 60% of the adult population. He said 4.1 million households will get RM100 in cash aid a month, compared with 700,000 households this year.
The additional RM3 billion allocated would see households eligible to receive a maximum of RM4,600 in aid compared with RM3,700 previously