NST: Govt adjusts cost of living indicators to reflect current needs, says Anwar
KUALA LUMPUR: The government has adjusted the indicators to measure the cost of living to meet the current needs of the people and national development.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the decision to modify the index was based on a decision made in a meeting in March.
"The current situation demands for changes (in the indicators). The needs (of people living) in Kuala Lumpur are not the same as those in Hulu Terengganu."
He said this during Prime Minister Question Time in Dewan Rakyat today, in response to a question from Datuk Rosol Wahid.
The Hulu Terengganu member of Parliament had asked Anwar to state the latest developments in new indicators to measure the cost of living and what programmes were being implemented based on findings from the new indicators.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said the cost of living indicators used the Poverty Line Income Modified (PLI-Modified) developed by the International Labour Organisation in 2021.
As the indicators were modified, he said, the PLI would also need to be revised.
"The PLI is part of the cost of living, especially for the very poor. If we follow the PLI category in India, we are way above (the PLI), but we take into account the question of nutrient and diet.
"We also include food, non-alcoholic beverages, clothing and shoes, housing, water, electricity, gas and fuel, home maintenance, healthcare, transport, information and communication, and education services, which are general aspects not included in the cost of living in most countries," he said.
Anwar also said the indicators would cover 13 states, three Federal Territories and 162 administrative districts, and would involve information on marginal propensity to consume (MPC) and purchasing power parity (PPP).
The MPC refers to how much people spend on goods and services out of each extra dollar they earn, while PPP is a way to compare how much things cost in different countries using a common currency.
