In September 2016, the bodies of two children and their father were found in a house in
Segambut, Kuala Lumpur. The surviving two children told stories of a violent father and a
mother who were both jobless. People are speculating about the reasons behind this tragedy. It
must have been a very difficult situation to survive in a city without jobs and have four children,
even with support, even with support from the childrens paternal grandfather.
Being poor, in a city can be harder compared to rural areas, as the cost of living in rural
areas in cheaper. There is no shortage of housing in rural areas and food supplies can be
supplemented by farming, such as growing ones own vegetable and rearing chickens. People
cannot do in flats in urban areas. There has been major shift of the population, with about 70%
of Malaysians now living in urban areas compared to 20 years ago. Urban poverty is becoming
a more serious problem compared to rural poverty, as there are not enough policies to help
those affected by urban poverty.
Urban poverty remains a worrying problem as the average household income does not
necessary match the escalating cost of living today. The shrinking ringgit and growing inflation
have affected the standard of the living in Malaysia. The budget 2017 should focus more on
helping the urban poor. Malaysian are faced with the rising cost of living, lack of affordable
housing, low EPF retirement savings, lower wages and inflation. Unskilled and semi- skilled
workers, will be the most vulnerable groups. As Malaysian has a large number of low to middle-
income group, we need to ensure that the cost of living is manageable and find ways to
accelerate the income of urban poor.
Sources: Adapted from Poor in the city. The Star Online, 2016.
Questions:
1) Based on the articles, what is the causes of increasing in living standard in urban area?
2) According to the articles, current policies not enough to help those affected by urban poverty.
Any suggestions policies should focus on urban poverty especially M40.
3) As policy makers, discuss measures undertaken by the Malaysian government to narrow the
inter-region gap?.
In September 2016, the bodies of two children and their father were .pdf
1. In September 2016, the bodies of two children and their father were found in a house in
Segambut, Kuala Lumpur. The surviving two children told stories of a violent father and a
mother who were both jobless. People are speculating about the reasons behind this tragedy. It
must have been a very difficult situation to survive in a city without jobs and have four children,
even with support, even with support from the childrens paternal grandfather.
Being poor, in a city can be harder compared to rural areas, as the cost of living in rural
areas in cheaper. There is no shortage of housing in rural areas and food supplies can be
supplemented by farming, such as growing ones own vegetable and rearing chickens. People
cannot do in flats in urban areas. There has been major shift of the population, with about 70%
of Malaysians now living in urban areas compared to 20 years ago. Urban poverty is becoming
a more serious problem compared to rural poverty, as there are not enough policies to help
those affected by urban poverty.
Urban poverty remains a worrying problem as the average household income does not
necessary match the escalating cost of living today. The shrinking ringgit and growing inflation
have affected the standard of the living in Malaysia. The budget 2017 should focus more on
helping the urban poor. Malaysian are faced with the rising cost of living, lack of affordable
housing, low EPF retirement savings, lower wages and inflation. Unskilled and semi- skilled
workers, will be the most vulnerable groups. As Malaysian has a large number of low to middle-
income group, we need to ensure that the cost of living is manageable and find ways to
accelerate the income of urban poor.
Sources: Adapted from Poor in the city. The Star Online, 2016.
Questions:
1) Based on the articles, what is the causes of increasing in living standard in urban area?
2) According to the articles, current policies not enough to help those affected by urban poverty.
Any suggestions policies should focus on urban poverty especially M40.
3) As policy makers, discuss measures undertaken by the Malaysian government to narrow the
inter-region gap?
