BY: KARTIK SUBRAMANIAM

The number of B40 persons has swelled over the last decade and their burgeoning presence in this country is reportedly set to increase unless there is concrete action taken by the government to help them come out of their rut.

The reason for their increasing numbers is because of a global recession after the Covid 19 pandemic, inflationary trends, and the toxic politics in this country that has created an underclass which has become a growing concern for the government.

While there were independent advisers and pundits who predicted this scenario long before it happened, their warnings and advice fell on deaf ears and the result now is an almost human catastrophe which has become a challenge to overcome.

The government, obviously, must focus attention on the B40 group and pay particular concern to those who can be given aid and assistance to come out of this class of society by being able to improve their livelihood.

There is, of course, also of concern, the hardcore poor or those living in abject poverty, who are not only poor but marginalized, oppressed and downtrodden, shunned and ostracised by society that need critical care and concern.

While Malaysia is a fairly wealthy country, it needs to reform its politics and policies by embracing egalitarian values that there is an equitable distribution of income and to bridge the gap between the haves and have nots in the country.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE

** The views expressed on this opinion is of the writer and not the publisher