The recent statement made by the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights highlighted the need for more targeted social assistance for the poor in Malaysia. To do this, we should be looking at tweaking current programmes, or formulating better-targeted initiatives through data-driven policy. Melisa Idris and Ibrahim Sani speak to Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, Malaysia’s Chief Statistician, as well as Christopher Choong, Deputy Director of Research at Khazanah Research Institute.