Urban Poverty Alleviation Strategies from Multi-dimensional and Multi-ethnic Perspectives: Evidences from Malaysia

Abstract

Lately, poverty has been a highly contested concept. Traditionally, poverty was a phenomenon associated to those entrapped in the lower rungs of society. This perception is attributable to the quantitative measurement of poverty determined by a controversial indicator ? the "poverty line". Historically, majority of the poor are rural folks with income levels below the poverty line. Massive ruralurban migration necessitated by industrialisation and rapid urbanisation caused the emergence of a new social class – the "new poor" or "urban poor". Though scholars argued that industrialisation and urbanisation do create opportunities for wealth accumulation, but at the opposite end of the continuum we now face the "urban poor" issue inflicting our urban citizenry. The dire situation demands that the poverty concept should go beyond income levels and be more all-encompassing and multi-dimensional. In Malaysia, the situation becomes more pressing because the Malaysian population comprises people from diverse ethnicities like Malays, Chinese and Indians as the three most dominant ethnic groups. Such ethnic diversity in Malaysia's social structure will reflect the way diverse socio-cultural and economic conditions shape and define poverty. Thus, due considerations should also be given to "ethnicity" when deliberating the strategies that can enable a person to escape the poverty cycle. This qualitative study attempts to fill a pertinent research gap by examining poverty alleviation strategies not only from a multi-dimensional approach, but also from Malaysia's multi-ethnic viewpoint. This study highlighted that the receipt of aid/assistance differs amongst ethnic groups with Malays indicating more instances of receiving aid from the government compared to those of their Chinese and Indian counterparts. It was also found that the Chinese and Indians who escaped urban poverty depended mostly on personal values (i.e. diligence, perseverance, spiritual belief, self-discipline) to help them confront poverty. The recommendations from this paper will serve to reconceptualise the meaning of urban poverty in Malaysia and subsequently understand the different types of poverty alleviation strategies that are unique to each different ethnic group.