SHAH ALAM, July 29 — The government is pursuing two key strategies to ensure household incomes grow faster than the rising cost of living by creating more high paying jobs while strengthening social protection for vulnerable groups, said Economy Deputy Minister Datuk Mohd Shahar Abdullah.
It acknowledges the public concern over rising living costs and is committed to ensuring that sustainable income growth outpaces increases in the prices of goods.
"To achieve this, the government is using two key approaches under the Madani Economy framework and the 13th Malaysia Plan; to raise the ceiling and raise the floor," he said in response to Senator Azahar Hassan’s query during the question and answer session in the Dewan Negara today.
Shahar added that the first strategy is raising the ceiling, which focuses on generating higher paying jobs through value creation, productivity, and quality investments.
This included developing high-growth, high-value industries, strengthening Technical and Vocational Education and Training, expanding upskilling and reskilling programmes, and improving the competitiveness of micro, small, and medium enterprises.
For the second strategy, which is to raise the floor, he said it aims to safeguard people’s well-being through stronger labour market policies and a fairer social protection system.
"When we talk about raising the floor, we focus on protecting the people's welfare, strengthening the labour market and providing fair social protection to ensure no one is left behind," Shahar said.
Initiatives under this approach include Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah, Sumbangan Asas Rahmah, the BUDI fuel subsidy programmes, and the Progressive Wage Policy to support income growth and productivity.
He also acknowledged that while Malaysia's inflation remained moderate at 1.9 per cent in June this year, official inflation figures may not reflect the actual cost of living pressures faced by every household.
Lower income households are hit harder by inflation because they spend a larger share of their income on essential goods such as food, housing and transport, while the Consumer Price Index measures average price changes across a standard basket of goods and services.
To provide a more accurate picture, the government introduced the Cost of Living Indicator in 2024, which assesses living costs using household income, expenditure, access to basic facilities, and consumer price data.
On ensuring stronger economic growth benefits ordinary Malaysians and businesses, Shahar said the GDP is an aggregate measure and the government is improving competitiveness across key sectors by cutting bureaucracy and compliance costs to help businesses boost productivity, profitability, and wages.
"If we can raise the ceiling, wages will increase and provide some relief to the people," he said.
