KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 – The people’s standard of living has been improved since the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) were implemented three years ago. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak when announcing the National Transformation Programmes’ Annual Report at the Angkasapuri here tonight summarised the factors as follows:
* The Gross Domestic Income (GNI) has increased from US$257 in 1957 to US$9,970 in 2012.
* The mean household income has increased from RM4,025 in 2009 to RM5,000 in 2012.
* The poverty rate has declined from over 60 percent in the early years of Independence to only 1.7 per cent in 2012.
* The income gap among the Malaysian people has improved with the Gini coefficient stood at 0.431 in 2012.
* The inflation rate remained low at 1.2 per cent as at December 2012. The rate is the lowest in the region.
* The buying power of the Malaysian people almost double the income per capita.
* More people are able to travel, perform umrah, own more than one car and smart phone, invest in unit trust and property.
* The government has allocated RM2.34 billion for the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) programme which benefits more than six million people.
* The government has allocated RM37.8 billion for numerous subsidies.
* Over 100,000 people have been taken out of poverty in just three years under the e-Kasih programme.
BERNAMA
