"We live in a world, full of contradictions. A world of paradox."

This is what Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said in his address at a conference on poverty held at a five-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur today.

"With enough technological innovation to send man to mars, the world is still grappling with the most basic of human needs - that of food and shelter," he added.

The 100-odd participants at the one-day conference - themed 'Towards the end of poverty in Malaysia' - were also treated to a sumptuous six-course lunch.

This, according to one of the participants Richard Yeoh, was rather ironic.

"Perhaps (the conference) could be held in a less luxurious place," remarked the executive director from a non-profit organisation known as Research for Social Advancement.

"We could have organised a camp to a village to let the participants, especially government decision-makers, have a meaningful experience about the real poverty problem," he added.

Then again, he wondered if the participants would go to such a location.

Be more realistic

As for poverty, Yeoh said the government should be more realistic - especially with the growth of urban poverty - and adopt viable measures to resolve it.

"For instance, it was far from reality to define the poverty line income as earning less than RM500 a month. A college student's pocket money is about that," he added

Yeoh said the government should also recognise related issues like poor public transportation and low-cost flats being built in unsuitable places as factors contributing to the poverty problem.

Malaysia's poverty incidence stood at 5.7 percent in 2004, compared to 8.5 percent in 1999. However urban poverty grew from 86,100 households in 1999 to 91,600 households in 2004.

The government has aimed to reduce the current poverty incidence to 2.8 percent and to eliminate hardcore poverty by 2010, as pledged in the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP).

In his luncheon address earlier, Najib said in an ever increasingly prosperous Malaysia, people need to go beyond poverty.

"With the increase in the country's wealth, so must that of its people. The income gap must be narrowed, not widened, if not this is a matter of concern to the government," he added.

The deputy premier asked for the detection and definition of poverty to be reviewed in order for the government to take a more comprehensive view.

"We talk of pockets of poverty and sometimes, they remain unnoticed. Our government agencies that are there to monitor are not able to detect, for whatever reasons," he said.

He commended the media for playing a positive role in highlighting the plight of the poor but told government agencies to be pro-active and provide better services.

Inadequate allocation

Meanwhile, Yayasan Sosial Strategik executive director Dr Denison Jayasooria said the RM50 million allocated under the 9MP to tackle urban poverty was inadequate.

"We need a bit more thrust and emphasis for the urban poverty eradication project. The allocation is low compared with other government projects," he added.

He was speaking with three other panelists on the discussion session that review the current state of poverty in Malaysia and the region.

Denison also opined that the current rural-urban divide was too simplistic and this could be a disadvantage for the urban poor in terms of government policies and alienate them further.

"Living in Sri Hartamas and living in the Petaling Jaya Utara flats are two different worlds," he said, adding that lumping the two groups together was a "great disservice".

The social activist also asked the government to set the benchmark for the evaluation on poverty at a higher level. He described the current benchmark as relatively low.

"Do we compare ourselves with the poorest or richest countries?" he asked.

Denison also called for local government elections to be reintroduced to allow the grassroots and the poor to participate.

The other panelists were Noriyah Ahmad from the government's Economic Planning Unit, Inau Edin Nom from the Social Welfare Department and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia principal research fellow Prof Chamhuri Sawar.

The conference was jointly organised by the Malaysian Strategic Research Centre and Germany-based foundation, Konrad-Adenauer Foundation.