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  • Essay / Poverty Alleviation and Malaysia's Five-Year Development Plans

    Table of ContentsMalaysia's DevelopmentPovertyObjectives of Malaysia's Five-Year Development PlansNational Economic Policy (NEP)National Development Policy (NDP)National Vision Policy (NVP) Privatization of Government Agencies or EnterprisesAdvantagesDisadvantagesMultimedia Super Corridor (MSC)MSC Phase 1 (1996-2003)MSC Phase 2 (2004-2010)MSC Phase 3 (2001-2020)Poverty lineConcepts of povertyReasons for povertyRural areasUrban areasMeasures to eradicate povertyBest solutionConclusion and recommendationsMalaysia DevelopmentThe Malaysia Plan a comprehensive overview of the government's development policies and strategies, also known as the Malaysia Five Year Plan. After Malaysia gained independence, the government launched a series of projects to lead the country towards the realization of Vision 2020. Malaysia's 4th Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, officially inaugurated the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) on the 12th. February 1996. Since then, MSC has led the transformation of our country into a knowledge-based society for almost 17 years and MSC has become our gateway to the ICT industry in the region. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay PovertyMore than 20% of the world's population lives in poverty. Poverty is a major problem all over the world as thousands of people die every year due to this major problem. Poverty is a problem that everyone needs to tackle because if no one tries to fix the situation, the situation will only continue to get worse over time. To help end poverty, we must help each other in whatever way we can. Poverty refers to not having the means to meet basic human needs such as clean water, nutrition, health care, clothing, food, and a warm place to live. Poverty is a deadly problem that is slowly killing our population (Alvarado, nd). To help end poverty, it is vital that government and communities contribute as much as possible to ensure that everyone meets at least their basic needs for the survival of humanity. .Goals of Malaysia's Five-Year Development PlansNational Economic Policy (NEP)The two goals of the NEP that go hand in hand are the elimination of poverty among Malaysians regardless of race and the rectification of economic imbalances between racial groups of the country. aspects of income, employment and wealth (Saniman, 2007). The NEP emphasized the importance of achieving socio-economic goals as well as pursuing economic growth goals to create unity and harmony in a country with many racial and religious communities. National unity was the ultimate goal with the following other objectives (Izad, 2012): Creation of growth centers Modernization of rural areas Rapid development of urban areas Increase productivity and income of those in occupations that lack productivity National Development Policy (NDP) The NDP continued to pursue its objectives set by the NEP. National unity is the ultimate goal of the NDP because a united society is essential to improve social and political stability and ensure that economic development remains sustainable. This policy constitutes a crucial step in enabling Malaysia to achieve the status of a developed nation in all aspects of social, values, ethics and morals, political stability, quality of life, government efficiency andof excellence in the economy (Kasturi, 2014). .National Vision Policy (NVP)The objective is the same as that of the NDP which is national unity. The objectives are to build a unified, forward-looking and prosperous Malaysian race that lives together harmoniously and is involved in a strong and beneficial relationship. Here are the objectives (Izad, 2012): Make Malaysian society more knowledge-based Create internal growth by stimulating local investment Improve the dynamism of the agricultural, manufacturing and service sectors through the injection of knowledge Combat rural and rural poverty Orang Asli and Bumiputera minority groups in Sabah and SarawakImproving the quality of life and income of people in the lowest 30% of income groupsDefending a knowledge-based society by restructuring human resource developmentPrivatization of government agencies or businessesBenefitsPrivatization is mainly linked to increased efficiency due to the pursuit of profit. To minimize their costs and increase their profits, private companies always strive to increase their operational efficiency. Additionally, privatization decreases political interruption from the government. Sometimes the government seems incapable of making difficult decisions, especially when they affect its political position, such as layoffs and pay cuts, which will end up attracting less positive publicity and attention. This is actually not beneficial for privatized companies. Additionally, privatization provides incentives for business improvement through competition. When a public entity is privatized, it loses government protection and is forced to adapt to the market by providing better products or services to survive. To survive, a privatized state-owned enterprise loses the legal protection of the government and has no choice but to adapt to the market by providing better services or goods.DisadvantagesPrivatization of some entities may result in a natural monopoly. This type of monopoly occurs when the number of most efficient companies in an industry is just one. For example, the fixed costs linked to tap water are very high. So, here, the possibilities for competition between a few companies are limited. In scenarios like this, privatization would only form a private monopoly seeking to set higher prices and exploit customers. It would therefore be better to create a public monopoly rather than a private monopoly which exploits consumers. With private monopolies, government regulation is necessary to prevent the abuse of monopoly power. In sectors that operate important services for the general public, for example education, health and public transport, their main objective should not be a profit motive for these companies. . In health care, there is concern that the privatization of health care may ultimately lead to a greater emphasis on profit rather than patient care. There is a debate that we do not need a profit incentive to improve standards in an area like healthcare. However, doctors are not likely to offer a better chance of job success when treating their patients when they are certain of getting a bonus or promotion (Pettinger, 2017).Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) The Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) is Malaysia's most exciting initiative for the global information and communications technology (ICT) industry. MSC was conceptualized in 1996 and has since grown to become a dynamic andthriving home to over 900 multinationals, Malaysian foreign-invested companies and local businesses focused on multimedia and communications products, solutions, services, and research and development (UITM, nd). The MSC program consists of three phases: MSC Phase 1 (1996-2003) Five cyber cities have been successfully developed: Kuala Lumpur, KL Tower, Cyberjaya, Malaysia Technology Park and UPM-MTDC. There are more than 1,000 companies and universities with MSC status. Seven major MSC flagship initiatives were piloted, 22,000 high-value jobs were created and a total turnover worth RM6 billion was generated. MSC Phase 2 (2004-2010) A few highly intelligent cities have been created, these cities are known as cyber cities. A cyber law comparable to global standards has been established. A series of websites using the same concept of corridors have also been created. MSC Phase 3 (2001-2020) Malaysia will evolve into a multimedia super corridor. An International Cybercourt will be created in the MSC and 12 smart cities will be connected to the global information superhighway. Many flagship and innovative applications have been developed within the MSC to accelerate its expansion. They focus on developing: Smart Schools – This is a learning establishment that has been systematically invented in terms of teaching and learning practices and school management so that students are prepared to practice self-assessed and self-directed learning. Telehealth – This is a multimedia network connecting all stakeholders to provide products and services in the health field. The aim is to keep people in the wellness paradigm, through the effortless delivery of health information and virtual health services. Multipurpose Card (MPC) – Create a common platform that will enable government and private application providers to form smart card solutions. Electronic Government – ​​It is launched to improve the convenience, accessibility and quality of interactions between citizens and businesses. It will also increase information flows and processes within government to improve the speed and quality of policy development, coordination and implementation. R&D Clusters – It brings together the resources of companies and creates an environment to promote the development of innovative multimedia technologies. Development of technopreneurs – To help growth. of ICT SMEs into world-class enterprises and to nurture a critical number of strategic high-tech industries such as ICT, biotechnology and other life sciences start-ups. Poverty Line IncomePoverty line income is the minimum level of income considered adequate in a specific country. To find the poverty line, it is usually calculated by calculating the total cost of all essential resources that an average human adult consumes in a year. Historically, economists have paid particular attention to the real estate market and home prices as a determinant of the poverty line, since the rent required to live in an apartment makes up the largest portion of these resources. Sometimes certain factors, such as whether an adult is a parent, child, married, or otherwise, are commonly used to explain different circumstances (Wikipedia, 2018).Concepts of PovertyOne of the most frequently used concepts of poverty is the lack of economic well-being that focuses on quantifiable ways to measure and define poverty. These perspectives essentially point to the common theme of "economic deprivation", although poverty cantake many perspectives. The economic well-being approach mainly focuses on the insufficiency of economic resources consumed by populations. The idea of ​​economic well-being is linked to the physical quality of life for which the use of clothing, shelter, food and other basic needs is essential. Another concept is that of capability which highlights the need to view poverty as a lack of basic capabilities. of a person who shows how much freedom is necessary to achieve meaningful “functionings”. The degree of freedom an individual enjoys provides a more precise basis for determining the level of deprivation experienced. This concept makes more sense for idealizing poverty because, instead of focusing on low levels of apparent income, it focuses on that portion of well-being or deprivation that has inherent value and is generated by a wide range of attributes. and capacity concepts view poverty in terms of material and inner quality of life, the concept of social inclusion relates to relational quality of life. The social inclusion approach focuses on a person's relationship with broader social institutions and frameworks, which identifies an individual's social and relational resourcefulness necessary to achieve human well-being. Proponents of this social inclusion approach argue that when these individuals do not have an appropriate social order that would give them sufficient protection in times of need, even if they have adequate income or adequate means of survival , people can also be considered poor (Wagle, 2008). Reasons for Poverty Rural Areas Rural poverty is generally caused by poor infrastructure which hinders mobility as well as development. Usually, rural areas lack properly constructed roads that could improve accessibility to larger markets. The rural poor do not have access to the emerging markets and technological development that exist in urban areas. Due to poor infrastructure, the poor, many of whom have limited access to media, find their communication hampered, leading to social isolation. This type of isolation interrupts integration with the urban community and well-established markets that could lead to better development and economic security. Additionally, due to uncertainty in the water supply needed for production, poor irrigation systems endanger agricultural crops. Lower agricultural production, fewer employment days, and lower productivity in much less affluent rural areas can be caused by no irrigation at all to pump or store water. For some rural communities, they have low levels of education as well as limited opportunities for upskilling. and upskilling hinders social mobility. Most of the poor in remote areas are in precarious jobs, which causes poverty among the rural poor due to lack of education and lack of skills. Insufficient education in personal wellness and diet often causes malnutrition among poor rural citizens. Furthermore, lack of accessibility to information and social isolation caused by poor roads make it difficult for the rural poor to acquire health care and be able to pay for it, resulting in a deteriorating health rates (Wikipedia, 2018).Urban areasThe world's population is expected to be close to 60% in 2030, as urbanization is a fairly rapid process. When the urban population increases, the,.