PETALING JAYA: The government is reviewing more suitable disaggregation methods to identify target groups for aid, including methods based on disposable income, says deputy economy minister Hanifah Hajar Taib.
She said while the government currently maintains income classifications such as B40 (bottom 40%), M40 (middle 40%) and T20 (top 20%), it seeks to improve how it determines target groups for social aid under the 13th Malaysia Plan.
Hanifah was responding in the Dewan Rakyat to Che Zulkifly Jusoh (PN-Besut), who asked about the use of disposable income to replace gross income in classifying target groups for government aid.
She said current aid is generally based on the poverty line income threshold, which considers household basic needs, including food and non-food items such as health and education.
Hanifah noted that the B40 median income rose by an average of 5.2% to RM3,815 in 2024, from RM3,440 in 2022.
“The M40 median income also increased from RM7,694 in 2022 to RM8,999 in 2024, an average rise of 5.6%, while the T20 group saw an average increase of 2%, from RM15,867 in 2022 to RM16,517 in 2024.
“These increases reflect four main sources: salary income, self-employment, property and investment and current transfers,” she said in response to a supplementary question from Richard Rapu @ Aman Begri (GPS-Betong) about the household income thresholds used to determine socio-economic categories such as B40, M40 and T20.
