Sarawak targets RM15,000 median household income by 2030

SIBU: The State Government is targeting an increase in the median household income to RM15,000 per household under its Post COVID-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030.

Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development, Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee, said the indicator was used in PCDS 2030 as it better reflected the well-being and actual standard of living of the people than the average household income.

“According to economic studies, a more accurate indicator for measuring the well-being of the people is the median household income, rather than the average.

“The average is calculated by adding all salaries and dividing the total by the number of people.

“The median, meanwhile, represents the middle value, where 50 per cent of the people earn an income above that value and the other 50 per cent earn less,” he said.

He said this when speaking at the handover session of the Sejahtera MADANI Programme, Focus on Income Increase (Equipment), organised by the Sarawak State Development Office (ICU JPM Sarawak) Sibu Zone for 2026 recipients from Sibu Vocational College at the Sibu Islamic Welfare Trust Board (LAKIS) Hall here today.

Commenting further, Dr Annuar said Sarawak’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita currently stood at RM73,784, higher than the national figure of RM59,186, resulting in the state being categorised by Bank Negara Malaysia as a high-income region.

However, he said the achievement in GDP per capita must be complemented by continuous efforts to increase household incomes.

“This is because Sarawak’s median household income currently stands at only RM5,504.

“So, we are still working to ensure that the PCDS 2030 target is achieved, and the efforts made by ICU JPM Sarawak today are a step in the right direction towards achieving that,” he said.

Meanwhile, a total of 36 household members (AIR) from poor households, comprising students and alumni of Sibu Vocational College, received equipment assistance worth RM180,000 under the programme.

The one-off assistance is part of the RM1.375-million allocation for the ‘Focus on Income Increase’ initiative, which is being implemented throughout Sarawak.

The Sarawak State Development Office (ICU JPM Sarawak) Sibu Zone said in a media statement that the assistance was targeted at AIRs registered in the eKasih system.

Also present were ICU JPM Sarawak’s Director, Datuk Jasni Jubli; Sibu Vocational College’s Deputy Academic Director, Ling Tiong Yung; and Sibu District Education Officer, Lau Ngie Tung.