THE Malaysian government has succeeded in growing the middle class through the provision of an excellent education system, deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today.

He said the Malaysian social structure had advanced from pyramid-shaped, where the poorer classes made up the largest group at the bottom, to diamond-shaped, where the middle class formed the largest group.

“The Malaysian government’s success, under the leadership of previous prime ministers and current Prime Minister Najib Razak, has changed our society from pyramid-shaped to diamond-shaped,” he said at Sri Murugan Centre, which is marking its 35th anniversary today, in Brickfields. 

He said the middle-class group was now far bigger than the elite and hardcore poor groups. 

“This is the success of the Malaysian government that uses education to shape the middle class. The middle-income group is created by an excellent education system. 

Zahid also said urban poverty was a problem that must be eradicated, no matter which race made up the urban poor.

“I’m colour blind (when it comes to) eradicating urban poverty. Poverty is still poverty. It has to be addressed,” he said, adding that follow-up actions would be taken to address the high cost of living. – May 7, 2017.