Dr Annuar: Sarawak government targeting an increase of median household income to RM15,000 from RM5,504 through PCDS 2030

SIBU, Sept 18 2026: The Sarawak government is targeting an increase in the median household income to RM15,000 for a family through the Post-Covid-19 Development Strategy 2030 (PCDS 2030), from the current RM5,504. Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development Dr Annuar Rapaee said.

Caption: DrAnnuar Rapaee notes that Sarawak's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is currently at RM73,784, which is higher than the national rate of RM59,186, thus being categorized by the World Bank as a high-income region.

He said the indicator is used because it symbolizes the people's actual level of well-being and standard of living compared to using the average value.

"According to economic studies, a more accurate indicator to measure the well-being of the people is the 'median household income', not the average. The average is calculated by adding all salaries and dividing it by the number of people.

"While the median looks at the middle value, which is 50 percent of the people earn an income above that value and another 50 percent earn less than that value," he said when presenting the Sejahtera MADANI Programme Focus on Income Increase (Equipment) of the Sarawak State Development Office (SDO) Sibu Zone in 2026 today.

Dr Annuar noted that Sarawak's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is currently at RM73,784, which is higher than the national rate of RM59,186, thus being categorized by the World Bank as a high-income region.

However, he explained that the success of Sarawak's GDP per capita achievement needs to be complemented with continuous efforts to increase the people's household income specifically.

"So we are still working to ensure that the PCDS 2030 target is achieved, and the efforts made by SDO today are the best step towards that," he said.

Meanwhile, a total of 36 Household Members (AIR) with poor status consisting of students and alumni of Sibu Vocational College (KVS) received equipment assistance worth RM180,000 through the programme.

The one-off assistance is part of the Income Increase Focus allocation of RM1.375 million implemented throughout Sarawak.

The Sarawak SDO Sibu Zone in a media statement announced that the assistance is targeted at AIRs registered in the eKasih system.

Also present were the Director of ICU JPM Sarawak Dato Jasni Jubli, Deputy Academic Director of Sibu Vocational College Ling Tiong Yung and Sibu District Education Officer Lau Ngie Tung.