Page 210 - VC Message

Leading with Purpose
Messages of the Vice Chancellor SELECTED SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES

Forum on Redefining Poverty

Eradication in ASEAN:

Multidimensional Perspectives,

Evidence, and Pathways for

Inclusive Development

Address by the FESTIVAL OF IDEA
Vice-Chancellor,
Universiti Malaya
6 November 2025 | Putrajaya International Convention
Centre

Distinguished guests, esteemed speakers, colleagues, and friends from across
ASEAN,

1. We gather today not merely to discuss poverty, but to confront one of the most
defining moral and strategic questions of our time: why, after decades of growth
202 and progress, does poverty still persist—and in some cases deepen—amid
prosperity?
2. Welcome to the Forum on Redefining Poverty Eradication in ASEAN, under the
banner of the Festival of Ideas, and this beautiful Putrajaya serves as the backdrop
for our important discourse for today.
3. To eradicate poverty today requires a multidimensional approach that transcends
income thresholds and penetrates the deeper roots of inequality—governance
failures, lack of access, fragile education systems, and the unequal distribution
of opportunity.
4. For too long, economic growth has been seen as the singular remedy for poverty.
Yet, growth without equity has become an illusion of progress. The World Bank’s
latest data show that while ASEAN’s GDP surpassed US$4.2 trillion in 2024,
nearly 100 million people in our region remain either poor or at risk of falling
back into poverty with a single shock. This exposes a troubling truth: prosperity
in ASEAN has not been evenly shared. Intra-country and intra-ASEAN inequalities
are widening.
5. Between nations, the disparity is even more striking—Singapore’s per-capita GDP
now exceeds US$80,000, while Cambodia’s remains below US$2,000. Without
deliberate correction, we risk cementing a two-speed ASEAN: one part racing
ahead in innovation, the other left behind in survival.
6. Inequality, left unchecked, is a silent destabilizer—it breeds resentment, corrodes
trust, and undermines social cohesion The poorest 40% of ASEAN’s population
still hold less than 15% of national income, while the richest 10% control nearly
half. This is not merely an economic imbalance; it is a structural fragility that
threatens the long-term stability of our nations.
7. The poverty we face today is not defined solely by lack of income; it is about
access, agency, and resilience. We must confront