PUTRAJAYA, Dec 7 — The Madani government is optimistic about eradicating hardcore poverty in the country by the first quarter of next year, driven by the implementation of various targeted programmes, which will be closely monitored.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the hardcore poverty rate has now dropped to 0.09 per cent, making it among the lowest compared with other developing nations.
“Malaysia has become the only country to record success in ending hardcore poverty; not in the United States, nor in Europe, where the number of people living destitute on the outskirts of cities remains high.
“I have informed the officers and the Coordination Unit that the figure is very small, and we are capable of resolving it before the first quarter of 2026,” he said.
Anwar was speaking during the Rancakkan Madani bersama Malaysiaku programme's closing ceremony at Dataran Merdeka today.
He emphasised that Malaysia’s economic fundamentals remain strong, supported by a 5.2 per cent growth rate in the third quarter, one of the highest in the Asian region.
“The ringgit's performance and foreign investment inflows have also improved, while the country’s trade recorded a 4.4 per cent increase with a cumulative value of RM2.335 trillion.
“This is an impressive achievement. Malaysia is a modest nation with a population of about 34.5 million, yet capable of recording cumulative trade exceeding RM2 trillion,” Anwar said.
Rancakkan Madani offers over 300 people-centric services, including career fairs, interactive exhibitions, family entertainment, and various special deals for visitors.
It is a continuation of the One Year with the Madani Government and Two Years of the Madani Government programmes, which serve as the administration’s annual direct reporting tradition to the public.
Taking place alongside Rancakkan Madani was the 2025 National Convention on Public Service Reform, gathering policy thinkers from among civil servants and industry players.
The nationwide programme, organised by the Prime Minister’s Office through the Performance Acceleration Coordination Unit (PACU), surpassed its target of more than 300,000 visitors, and ran from 9am to 10pm on Friday (December 5) and yesterday, and from 9am to 6pm today.
