THE EFFECT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON THE LIVELIHOOD OF LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS IN KLANG VALLEY
Dr. Wan Farisan Wan Sulaiman, PhD
DOI:
Keywords:
COVID-19 pandemic, people’s livelihood, low-income households, government assistance, public service delivery
Abstract
COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the global economy including Malaysia’s. People’s livelihoods were adversely affected as a result of the measures to contain the pandemic. To assess the economic impacts of COVID-19 on low-income households, a survey was conducted on seven Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR). The targeted respondents comprised of 9,765 households, however only 600 households responded to the survey. The survey aimed to understand the impact of the pandemic on low-income households, issues faced by them relating to government assistance as well as to obtain recommendations on improving government assistance. Findings of the study indicate that majority of the households’ (82.1%) income were impacted by COVID-19. The study also finds that the majority of low-income households (72.1%) had received government assistance and that such assistance was effective in reducing the economic impact of the pandemic. However, the public service delivery system could be further improved because 89% of those who did not receive government assistance felt that they are eligible for such assistance. Therefore, the awareness of government assistance and its application process could be improved and made more convenient.
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