Malaysia, as one of the region’s most dynamic economies, has had an impressive track record of sustained economic growth, substantial poverty reduction, and progress in human development over the last few decades.  Despite the shock of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the country’s economy has recovered and grew at an annual average rate of 5.3 per cent between 2000 and 2006.  The national poverty rate halved between 1990 and 1999, from 16.5 per cent to 8.5 per cent, and was just 5.7 per cent in 2004.  In that year, Malaysia’s multi-ethnic and culturally diverse population achieved high human development status. The country has achieved all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at an aggregate level, except for halting and beginning to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS. However, the challenge of growing inequality is an agenda that requires redress as  the progress in poverty reduction has been uneven across the country.  Although Malaysia has come close to ending extreme poverty, there are pockets of hard-core rural poverty remaining, especially among the indigenous communities of Sabah and Sarawak. Income inequalities have been rising; the Gini rose from 0.446 in 1990 to 0.462 in 2004.  There are growing spatial disparities in income and other human development indicators, as well as between, and within, Malaysia’s main communities.

The pillar on fostering inclusive globalization and promoting inclusive growth seeks to assist the Malaysian government and stakeholders in developing strategic and upstream initiatives that address Malaysia’s priority human development challenges which includes inequality in income generating activities, education, health services, infrastructural development, and the digital divide. UNDP Malaysia also supports initiatives to improve equity between states, population groups, and also to address the needs of marginalised and physically challenged communities.

Strategic programme initiatives have been developed in cooperation with the Government of Malaysia to analyze and implement high-impact projects that will assist the Government to reduce poverty, with particular focus given to the rural areas in the 5 states where poverty is highest in line with the aims of the Government’s Ninth Malaysia Plan, 2006-2010 target of halving poverty and eradicating extreme poverty. UNDP also seeks to make positive progress towards the achievement of MDG 6 to reverse and halt the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Efforts are also made to assist the Government of Malaysia in enhancing good governance and improving public service delivery, especially to the poor and the disadvantaged, as well as to ensure the integration of a human rights approach to development in national policies and programmes.

This cluster supports UNDP’s global thematic areas on poverty reduction, HIV/AIDs and democratic governance and services.

To keep up-to-date on UNDP's work in Malaysia, please visit our Newsroom's News/Events page, as well as our current press release section , which covers the latest UNDP events as well as collaborations in Malaysia in the below areas.

 
Projects:

Poverty Eradication Study to Identify Strategies and Programmes Eradicate Poverty and Improve Employment and Equity Restructuring in Sabah and Sarawak Identification of strategies and programmes to eradicate poverty in the poorer states of Sabah and Sarawak Strengthening Capacity in Poverty Monitoring, Policy Formulation and Evaluation Capacity development towards strengthened poverty monitoring and evaluation in Malaysia Sarawak Inland Waterway Transport System Study [Completed Project] Supporting the development of Sarawak’s Inland Waterway Transport System master plan     Governance Capacity Development of the Integrity Institute of Malaysia for the Implementation of the National Integrity Plan [Completed Project]     HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS – Meeting the Challenges with Community Based Prevention and Care Efforts [Completed Project] Involving Islamic religious leaders in HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support     Inclusive Development  Encouraging Increased Participation by Persons with Disabilities in the Workforce in the State of Johore  Towards increasing the participation of Persons with Disabilities in open employment Transport for the Disabled: Support of the Development of Accessible Transport in Penang Supporting the development of a barrier free public transport system in Penang    Gender Towards a National Action Plan to Empower Single Mothers Strengthening policies and programmes for single mothers Towards Achieving At Least 30 Per Cent Participation of Women at Decision Making Levels in Malaysia [Completed Project] Identifying opportunities for improving women’s participation at decision-making levels in the private and public Entrepreneurial Skills - Empowering Women [Completed Project] Empowering women through entrepreneurial skills building and improved market access Capacity Building on Gender Mainstreaming [Completed Project] Enhancing Capacity Building in Gender Mainstreaming Initiatives     ICT for Development A National Strategic Framework for Bridging the Digital Divide [Completed Project] Strengthening national ICT policies and strategies to bridge the digital divide Knowledge Content in Key Economic Sectors in Malaysia Phase 2 (MyKe II) [Completed Project] Assessing Malaysia’s knowledge and technology readiness in key economic sectors     Private Sector Partnerships Human Resource Development Through Education and Training for Malaysian Youths - A Honda-UNDP Partnership Enhancing higher learning opportunities for underprivileged youths