Malaysian households are classified into three categories, the main income groups being B40, M40 and T20. The Income is household based rather than income of individuals.
The latest categories are based on the Household Income and Basic Facilities Survey (HIES & BA) 2019, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed explained in Parliament today.
In an answer to a question raised by Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim (MP Port Dickson) on the latest statistics of household income categorised under B40, M40, T20, the minister said: “Currently, B40 is a group of households with a monthly income of less than RM4,850 covering 2.91 million households.
“M40 is a group of households with a monthly income of in between RM4,850 to RM10,959 covering 2.91 million households, while T20 is a group of households with monthly income of RM10,960 and above which covers 1.46 million households.
He added the classification of this income group is important for the Government to channel aid in a to the B40 category mainly to help the hardcore poor. Among the Government’s assistance programmes are:
– the Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia Assistance channelled to households with an ncome of RM5,000 and below;
– the Peranti Siswa programme by the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia to assist students in higher education institutions who are from the B40 category;
– the Support for children and parent Support by the Social Welfare Department; and
– the Supplementary Food Program (RMT) by the Education Ministry which benefited about 790,000 students across the country in 2022.
Mustapa said currently, the Department of Statistics Malaysia is implementing the Income, Expenditure and Basic Amenities Survey 2022 (Survei Pendapatan, Perbelanjaan dan Kemudahan Asas 2022) involving 92,000 households from January to December, this year.
He added in the Half Term Review of the Twelfth Malaysia Plan 2021 – 2025 (RMKe-12), which will begin start in the middle this month, the Government will revise the income-based categories based on the survey with final results expected in the quarter first next year.
This review will take into account structural changes, income and expenditure, cost of living, demographics factors and location of the households. The results will allow the government to categorise new household income groups which will further strengthen policy formulation and improve service delivery to the targeted groups.
He added each country uses a group classification method based on income that corresponds to the level of economy encountered by a respective target group. For example, the United States, South Korea and Singapore use income classes B20, M60 and T20. While Thailand uses classes income B50, M40 and T10.
