A Khazanah Research Institute report released today found that those in the bottom 10% allocated 38.3% of their expenditure to food compared with 24.5% among the top 10% of households.PETALING JAYA: Households in Malaysia’s bottom 10% income group retained just 1.9% of their gross income after covering consumption expenses in 2024 — down sharply from 10.8% in 2019, a report has found.

Khazanah Research Institute’s (KRI) State of Households 2026 report said these families had a median monthly gross income of RM2,227.

It noted that the remaining income of these households, after paying for food, went for other payments such as taxes and loan repayments, which reduced the amount available for savings.