SHAH ALAM - Bayan Baru member of parliament Sim Tze Tzin has questioned the common notion that Chinese are perceived as a wealthy community in Malaysia.

He said two statistics released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM) recently tell a different story.

Based on one of the DOSM's statistics posted on Sim's Facebook page, the average Chinese wage was RM3,488 in 2021, therefore, he said the average Chinese family falls under the "bottom 40" (B40) category if either one of the spouses works, and a household enters the "middle 40" (M40) group if both the spouses work.

Pointing out that the majority of the 3.4 million Chinese people in Malaysia make up the labour force and only a few do business, Sim stressed that many are still struggling, especially Chinese families that depend on a single breadwinner.

He also asserted that politicians like to manipulate and amplify racial and religious issues and told them to take a look at the statistics, which "don't lie."

"As long as I am a representative of the people, I always try to deal with poverty regardless of race and religion.

"I know that the majority of Malays, Indians, and Bumiputras in Sabah and Sarawak are poor, but the Chinese also need help," he elaborated.

Sim said that as a leader, he refused to play around with racial and religious sentiments.

"Instead, I'd like to help everyone who needs help and treat everyone fairly. "I hope that the statistics will shed some truth on everyone," he added.

sos