BRIDGING income disparity will be the core focus of the Shared Prosperity Vision 2021-2030, said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“We (the cabinet) agree in consensus that there is a disparity in this country. There are states that are rich and there are some that are poor,” Dr Mahathir said in a press conference after chairing a special cabinet meeting in Putrajaya today. 

The focus will be on increasing incomes in poorer states, such as Kelantan, Perlis and Kedah, he added.

Besides the disparity between states, the vision will also address income gaps between urban and rural areas as well as between the affluent and underprivileged.

Citing the earnings of a C-suite executive and their subordinates as an example, Dr Mahathir said the telling income gap between the rich and the poor should be given serious thought.

A C-suite executive is a high-ranking executive of a company in charge of making company-wide decisions. Usually, the term refers to a chief executive officer.

“An executive in the company has an annual income of RM2 to RM3 million, whereas the take-home salary of an ordinary staff is far from that,” he said.

“We need to increase their income but not just by increasing their salary but also by increasing productivity.” 

Dr Mahathir said the vision, which will be a core pillar in the 12th and 13th Malaysia Plan, will also place emphasis on skills development programmes, such as the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). 

He added that the TVET would be prioritised to boost Malaysia’s skilled workforce.

On funding for the initiative, Dr Mahathir said the government would cut corners in non-priority areas to increase the budget for the vision deemed priority areas.

He said that the Shared Prosperity Vision does not mean that everyone will become billionaires, but was aimed at building opportunities for the people to be as prosperous as they could within their income levels.

The Shared Prosperity Vision has been approved in principle by the cabinet.

A working paper will be tabled to the cabinet soon, Dr Mahathir added. 

Meanwhile, Economics Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali said the elements of the Shared Prosperity Vision would be included in Budget 2020, although it would only come into play in the 12th and 13th Malaysia Plan.

He added allocations for priority areas of the vision would be decided by the Finance Ministry. – September 14, 2019.