Wealthy Malaysia ‘poorer’ than in 1979

The wealthy are less rich now compared to 30 years ago, while the poor today own more than before due to the growth of the middle class, deputy minister in the prime minister’s department Datuk S Devamany told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

The top ten percent richest people of Malaysia now hold 33.1% of the country’s wealth, compared to 39.3% in 1979, he said in a written reply from the prime minister’s department.

“In 1979, the top ten percent of Malaysians owned 39.3% of the country’s assets but that has now fallen to 33.1%,” Devamany said.

“As a result of wealth distribution policies, the bottom ten per cent of Malaysia now possess 2% of the country’s wealth compared to 1.3% in 1979,” he said.

The answer was in response to a question by Tan Kok Wai (Cheras-DAP) on the amount of assets held by the top ten and the bottom ten percent of Malaysians over the period of 1981-2010.

Tan had also asked the government to state the policies used to ensure a fairer distribution of wealth in the country.

“The government is always working towards ensuring that economic growth is enjoyed and shared fairly by all Malaysians, regardless of ethnicity.

“The policies put in place have proven to narrow the economic gap between the different ethnic groups,” it added.

In his reply, Devamany said the government focused on improving the economic status for the bottom 40% of households, including the hardcore poor.

Among the strategies employed were tuition and skills training workshops, encouraging business entrepreneurship, micro credit schemes, and the development of various economic corridors, he said.

To a different question, the ministry of finance revealed that the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRB) has already refunded RM2.163 billion to taxpayers up till May 2010.

The government, however, has not determined the total amount of overpaid taxes due to errors in the computation of taxes payable, late submissions and changes to the IRB main system.

“IRB made three changes to the main system from the IMS System to Intactsg and then to the Self-Assessment system in 2001 for companies and 2004 for individuals,” said deputy finance minister Senator Datuk Awang Adek Hussin in a written reply in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

Datuk Dr Mohd Hayati Othman (Pendang-BN) had asked the ministry to state how much overpaid taxes were collected for the past five years and how much had been refunded.

According to the ministry, IRB had refunded RM4.342 billion in 2006, RM5.394 billion in 2007, RM8.559 billion in 2008 and RM10.028 billion last year.

As at May 2010, IRB has not refunded RM362,587 to taxpayers, said Awang Adek.




Written by Chan Kok Leong
This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, July 7, 2010.