Average household income gap among ethnic groups has widened, says WKB2030 document

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 – The gap in the average household income between the 20 per cent higher income group (T20) and the lowest 40 per cent (B40) was found to have widened over the period between 1989 and 2016, according to the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 (WKB2030).

The gap rose from RM1,935 to RM10,148 in the 27-year period, says the WKB2030 document. The vision was launched today by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. 

“The income gap between the ethnic groups was also found to have widened, with the monthly median income gap between the Bumiputera and Chinese ethnic groups increasing almost four-fold, from RM497 in 1989 to RM1,736 in 2016,” it says.

During the same period, the monthly median income gap between the Indian and Chinese ethnic groups also widened by four-fold, from RM286 to RM1,154, it adds.

Based on the transaction value of non-financial assets in the primary and secondary markets in 2018, the Bumiputera ethnic group was more focused on transactions involving residential units than commercial and industrial lots.

“The transaction value for residential units in the secondary market involving Bumiputeras totalled just RM16,846 million compared to RM32,263 million the non-Bumiputera ethnic groups,” says the document.

The document also says that from 2010 to 2014, the participation of Bumiputeras in selected professional fields was still low and was dominated by non-Bumiputeras except for dentists and surveyors.

“This domination was prominent in the profession of accountants, with 92 per cent of the registered accountants in Malaysia made up of non-Bumiputeras,” it adds.

It also says that the number of Bumiputera small and medium enterprises (SMEs) was not only less than the number of non-Bumiputera SMEs, the average value-added of the Bumiputera SMEs was only RM800,000 compared to the RM1 million of the non-Bumiputera SMEs in 2015.

The value of the average output by Bumiputera SMEs was RM700,000 compared to the RM1.4 million of the non-Bumiputera SMEs, it adds.

-- BERNAMA