By: Datin Sri Prof. Dr. Suhaiza Hanim Dato Mohamad Zailani
In its endeavours to mitigate poverty in Malaysia, UM, through the Ungku Aziz Centre (UAC), has participated in the Program Pembasmian Kemiskinan (BMT).
UAC noted that it’s critical to recognise that every member of the plan to eradicate poverty is different and needs assistance specific to their needs.
Conducting a comprehensive individual evaluation to identify the kind of intervention that would work best for each participant is crucial to closing the income and poverty disparities.
During the analysis of the ‘Skills’ and ‘Will’ matrices, various interventions were devised to support participants in their attempts to end extreme poverty.
The programme’s scope is described by ‘Will,’ as it relates to the participants’ dedication and drive to escape poverty. Self-assurance, drive, tenacity, and the will to alter one’s situation in life are among the ingredients.
The knowledge and abilities required for success in the business and social spheres are referred to as ‘skills’ in the interim. These encompass professional abilities, financial acumen, entrepreneurial aptitude, interpersonal talents, and communication skills.
Regarding ‘Will’, the proposed interventions are as follows:
(a) Provides a programme that helps participants develop confidence, motivation, and confidence in their ability to change their lives.
(b) Using motivational lectures, inspirational stories, or other participants’ success experiences motivates participants and builds their desire to escape poverty.
(c) The need to provide social assistance to participants. Social assistance can form a social security programme aimed at directly helping participants meet basic needs such as food, clothing, and housing.
(d) The need to assist participants by providing a job placement programme. These include finding participants with interested employers, providing specialised training for a particular job, or providing help finding a job.
(e) Provides training and guidance in entrepreneurial skills, business planning, financial management, and marketing to enable participants to start their own businesses and create a sustainable source of income.
(f) This intervention helps participants access decent, high-income jobs. These can include job placement programmes, job training programmes, or relationships with employers and industry.
On the other hand, the suggested interventions under ‘Skills’ are listed as follows:
(i) It is necessary to provide participants with a skill training programme to improve their ability to find employment or run a business. By improving their skills, participants have a better chance of getting a better job or starting a higher-income business.
(ii) Infrastructure development, such as a central kitchen or a dining room, is required. Infrastructure that helps them open businesses and generate revenue opportunities.
(iii) Economic enrichment programmes must facilitate access to capital and micro-credit to improve the credit, capacity, competency, and capability of participants in income-generating activities.
(iv) Support economic culture programmes such as cooperatives or joint venture groups. Through these programmes, participants can collaborate with other participants to start joint ventures, access capital or credit, and increase their income.
(v) must assist participants by providing access to markets and economic opportunities. This can involve establishing relationships between participants and entrepreneurs or employers, providing specialised training to develop business skills, or providing information about existing business opportunities.
(vi) This intervention aims to enhance participants’ skills, knowledge, and awareness of financial management, entrepreneurship, and future planning. This can include a microfinance programme, financial management training, or a motivation and self-recovery programme.
Subsequently, based on the results of the analysis carried out by the BMT @UAC POVERTY ASSESSMENT TOOL FOR COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT (PATCE@UAC), the SCORE CARD showed that participants passed the hardcore poverty level of the BMT programme.
Besides, most participants showed increased income and other aspects such as credit, capability, capability, and competence. Changes in these four aspects are essential to ensure that they can sustain a better life.
This removes these participants from the list of hardcore poverty citizens and from the E-Kasih system.
In light of this, it is hoped that with targeted efforts from various parties, Malaysia can continue alleviating the poverty issue in every state and eventually achieve an inclusive and equitable society.
The author is the Director of the Ungku Aziz Centre for Development Studies, Universiti Malaya. She may be reached at shmz@um.edu.my