income data. Finally, based on the analysis of the trend in income disparities, especially during the 1991-1995 period, , the paper will attempt to identify some of the gaps in related data which could hinder efforts towards understanding factors and processes in achieving sustainable human development in the country.
Trend In Poverty Level and The Distribution of Income
In Malaysia, during the NEP (1971-1990) period, much progress was made in bringing about growth with equity, as a result of her rapid economic growth and more importantly due to the deliberate government affirmative actions to improve the position of the Bumiputras and other disadvantaged groups. Table 1 contains some published official information pertaining to progress made in poverty eradication in the country during the 1971-1995 period. Based on this data, the incidence of absolute poverty in the whole of Malaysia declined from 52.4 per cent in 1970 to 17.1 per cent in 1990. Total number of poor households in the country fell from 784,900 in 1976 to 619,400 in 1990. This remarkable reduction in absolute poverty in Malaysia during the 1971-1990 period was accompanied by the reduction in income inequalities ( see Tables 2 and 3), based on the two measurement estimates of income inequalities - i.e. income shares going to various income groups and the Gini coefficient - available from published official documents.
The ability of the Malaysian economy to achieve growth with redistribution has enabled the living standards of Malaysians to be improved. Hence, the 1971 -1991 period saw a significant improvement in the standard of living of all Malaysians. For example, the 1991 Population Census reveals that about 86 per cent of total occupied housing units in Malaysia had access to piped water compared to 65 per cent in 1980. In terms of accessibility to electricity, 90.5 per cent of total occupied housing units in Malaysia used electricity lamp as compared to 64.0 per cent in 1980. Malaysia also recorded higher literacy rate in 1990, i.e. 85.2 per cent as compared to 72.2 per cent in 1980. It further increased to 91 per cent in 1995 (Malaysia, 1996).
