Malaysian PM Tells Poor To Work Harder And Quit Handouts

Story By:  Lee Bullen,Sub EditorJoseph Golder,AgencyCentral European News 

The Malaysian Prime Minister has told the county’s poorest that they need to work harder and not “wait for help from the government” as they have “lots of time” on their hands.

Malaysian PM Mahathir bin Mohamad made the statement during a monthly meeting with government officials at the Prime Minister’s Department in Putrajaya, a planned city and the country’s federal administrative centre after the seat of government was shifted there in 1999 due to Kuala Lumpur’s congestion problems.

Picture Credit: CEN

According to the PM, the country’s poor need to work hard towards improving their livelihood as well as welcome the government’s strategies to help lift them out of poverty.

Mohamad stressed the importance of the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 project which he believes will reduce the wealth gap between people of different races.

He said: “They can’t only be waiting for help from the government. They have to work harder to increase their income and get out of poverty. Those who are poor have lots of time to do a lot of work to get more money.”

Picture Credit: CEN

He told the country’s poorest that measures are in place to help them improve their lot, adding: “The government will identify what are the things they can do, such as business opportunities or entrepreneurship.

Mohamad said: “If one effort fails, there are other avenues for the poor to explore and they have the time to improve themselves.”

Fearful of a possible uprising, the prime minister added: “Poverty is the main stumbling block of our country. If it becomes a problem, a revolution might happen and the people will act by taking over the country.”

Following a recent visit to South Korea, Mohamad made a comparison with his own country: “Once upon a time, South Korea was behind us in economic terms.

“They have now surpassed us with a per capita income of 36,000 USD (27,700 GBP) compared to ours at 10,000 USD (7,700 GBP).”

“I wonder what is keeping Malaysia from emulating what South Korea and Japan have managed to achieve.”

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.