KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 18): Economist Dr Mohammed Abdul Khalid said the move made by the government to reduce the income gap is a right step forward.

Speaking to reporters at the sidelines after the forum "End Poverty Day 2018: Piecing Together The Poverty Puzzle", Dr Mohammed said everyone should be given equal opportunity to "move up the social mobility".

"This is not a matter of economic growth, but those countries with high inequality, wide gap, usually would not recover faster when there's [a] crisis nor sustainable in the long run.

"It's not good for growth. So in economics terms, it matters to reduce [the] gap. But in [a] society like [ours], it also matters [for] national unity and social cohesion," he said.

Dr Mohammed, who is Economic Adviser to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said the gap cannot measure differences.

"You cannot have one group regardless of geographical differences, ethnic, gender. Everybody should be given equal opportunity to move up the social mobility.

"That is what is presented in the mid-term review of the 11th Malaysian plan. The direction to reduce gap is a right step to move forward," he said.

On the indigenous people such as orang asli, Dr Mohammed stressed that the group should be given more attention.

"But [outcome] needs to be measured. There's no point giving assistance without measuring outcomes.

"The outcomes shouldn't be based on income, but multi-dimensional like what the mid-term review has shown," he said, pointing to the multi-poverty index in the mid-term review.