KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank on Wednesday launched a report that suggests five policy areas for Malaysia to consider in order to reduce inequality.
These include enhancing opportunities by boosting productivity, prioritizing quality education and skills training, and investing in broad-based human capital development, especially for young children; strengthening social protection through increased spending, improved targeting for efficiency, and reduced fragmentation, it said in a statement.
The policy areas also include financing inclusive investments by expanding health and education investments, creating more fiscal space for equity-enhancing initiatives, and communicating the benefits of equitable policies; addressing spatial inequalities by implementing place-sensitive policies to reduce regional disparities; and monitoring inequality using a range of metrics, including systematic tracking of both inequality and mobility.
"Malaysia has already done very well in terms of economic growth and poverty reduction. Now is the opportunity to make the economy more inclusive in order to achieve both economic and human development objectives," said Zafer Mustafaoglu, World Bank country director for the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.
According to a survey conducted for this report, ensuring equitable growth remains a priority for many Malaysians.
Although Malaysia has reduced poverty and improved living standards, the report highlighted that inequality remains higher than in many high-income countries, including those that became high-income countries in the last 15 years.
According to the statement, strengthening access to quality education, healthcare, and employment opportunities will be key to ensuring that economic prosperity is shared by all. ■
