Tax-funded social assistance programmes, an important pillar of social protection in Malaysia, are short term in nature and lack sustainable financial and legal foundations. Pitfalls of narrow poverty targetingWidespread poverty in the past justified poverty targeting as an important dimension for social protection policies in Malaysia. Social protection is essential for many in dealing with risks that could happen at any time throughout their lifetime. Right to social protectionWhile social protection is still seen by many as relief for the poor, poverty targeting alone is not sufficient to guide social protection policy. This should be a juncture for a paradigm shift in Malaysian social protection policies to honour the declaration that “social security is a human right” as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.

Source: The Edge Markets May 27, 2021 04:07 UTC