Rafizi said Malaysia’s Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality within a country or a population, stood at 39 compared to 30 in high-income countries.

“This puts us behind many, including our regional peers, and wealth inequality remains highly concentrated in the hands of the few,” he said at the launch of a report titled “A Fresh Take on Reducing Inequality and Enhancing Mobility in Malaysia” at Sasana Kijang here.

In 2023, Indonesia’s Gini coefficient stood at 38.3 while in 2021, Thailand’s Gini coefficient was 34.9.

Rafizi said that while nearly all Malaysians today had better education and healthcare than their parents or grandparents, relative mobility up the income ladder remained low.

“Half of the people at the bottom 20% remain at the bottom, and nearly two-thirds of the richest 20% are likely to stay there,” he said.

Rafizi called for a more comprehensive approach to assessing inequality, which he said must be measured both horizontally – through the education, health, and employment sectors – and vertically, by examining disparities within ethnic groups.

He also emphasised the need for early intervention in opportunity gaps, which account for 65% of total income inequality.

“Income inequality can be traced back to inequality in early life, from a mothers’ pre-birth care, to early childhood nutrition, to the quality of the school attended,” he said.

Rafizi said the government was addressing these issues by creating a dynamic labour market through strategies such as the National Energy Transition Roadmap and the Johor-Singapore special economic zone.

“We have also decided to intervene directly to correct the labour market structure, through the progressive wage policy (PWP).

“The economy ministry completed the PWP pilot programme last year, and 2025 will be the year of scaling up,” he said.