INDIANS ECONOMICAL STATUS IN MALAYSIA.....

Income distribution

Income distribution to reduce income gaps among ethnic groups as well as between rural and urban areas has seen Bumiputera’s mean income increased by 5.2% to RM3,156 in 2007 from RM2,711 in 204. During the period, the Chinese’s income rose 3.0% to RM4,853 from RM4,437, Indians’ income rose 3.2% to RM3,799 from RM3.456 and for others, a 15.5% increase to RM3,651 from RM2,312.

In urban areas, income rose 3.3% to RM4,356 from RM3,956 and for the rural area, there was a 6.8% increase to RM2,283 from RM1,875

Ownership restructuring

The government’s target under the 9MP is to attain bumiputera equity ownership between 20% and 25% by 2010, which excludes government companies like Petroliam Nasional Bhd and Khazanah Nasional Bhd. The equity ownership is based on the par value of the shares and not on market capitalization.

Bumiputera ownership has increased from 18.9% in share capital in 2004 to 19.4% in 2006. During the period, individual ownership increased from 15.0% to 15.1% while for institutions, including Permodalan Nasional Bhd, it increased from 2.2% to 2.6%.

For non-bumiputeras, it increased from 40.6% in 2004 to 43.9% in 2006. Chinese ownership group saw an increase from 39.6% to 42.4%, while for Indians it showed a slight decline from 1.2% to 1.1%.

However, there was a decline in foreign ownership from 32.5% to 30.1% while for nominees, it fell from 8.0% to 6.6%.