My leaders, how well you understand our woes

Earlier this month, the Federal Territories Ministry drew widespread criticism for seemingly doing a good deed.  At an open house in Ipoh, the Ministry handed out kitchen and electrical appliances to the homeless. Yes, the very people who do not have a home in which to display and use such modern comforts.

It may seem like a good gesture and a thoughtful one, don’t you think? By having their own stoves and food mixers, the underprivileged lot could cook their own healthy and nutritious meals. Sounds good as a concept, but alas, this act of supposed kindness only further proved how disconnected our ruling elite are from the common man.

It is surprising to think how being privileged can warp our perception of the reality around us. As our fellow Malaysians in the East Coast were suffering from the worst catastrophe in our collective memory, our First Lady bemoaned theanguish she and her husband endured from the Mat Rempits disrupting their sleep. Not to be outdone, our Prime Minister claimed to be a victim of the flood himself. E. Coli is no joking matter, mind you.

Tuning in onto the radio on the way to work Friday morning, I was intrigued by the topic of discussion: how we are going to have to alter our lifestyle now that the ringgit is weakening. Good, I thought, for I clearly am quite distressed at the turn our ringgit and economy is taking.

Some callers talked about eating in more, brown-bagging food to work, growing vegetables and so on. Then the conversation moved on to travelling – how nowthat the ringgit is weaker, travel overseas will cost a lot more and so on. Legitimate worries – one that I myself have, uncertain how 2015 is going to pan out for my family and me.

I get to work, with all worries of the depreciating ringgit and weakening economy behind me for there is work to be done and income to be earned. Come lunchtime and a few of us start taking a poll on where to go fill our grumbling bellies. Mid-discussion, I slowly start picking up on the retreating bodies followed by their mumbled excuses.

“I cooked last night.”

“I brought sandwiches from home.”

Fair enough. Most of us do bring food from home once or twice a week.

Then I heard something else that I was not prepared for.

“I don’t think I’ll be joining you guys for lunch the rest of this month. I’ve run out of money, waiting for payday.”

The last time I had to scrimp that bad was when I was still in college, living on ramen and coffee.  But this was coming from a colleague, a white-collared office worker.  Middle class on paper, pinched in reality. 

From paying rent and instalments for apartments and cars that cost far more than an average wage earner could afford, to settling student debts and purchasing daily necessities, it is no surprise how most of us in the middleincome bracket are feeling squeezed.

All this is happening while you have institutions such as the Malaysian Employers Federation, which is demanding for the minimum wage to remain at RM900 instead of the proposed RM1200. Or politicians who think that a yearly hand-out of a token sum is enough to tide entire families through the year, even through the upcoming implementation of the Goods and ServiceTax (GST). We are being pinched from all sides, and the room to breathe is getting smaller.

In all honesty, I do not know how much of a toll GST is going to be on my own expenditure, along with everything else. What I do foresee is having to forgo quite a bit of those tiny comforts I take in life to build a stronger safety net for my aging parents and myself.

As a voting citizen of this “tanah tumpah darahku”, I would really appreciate all the help I can get from my elected officials. It would be super awesome if theycould for once relate to the struggles of us, the rakyat, and implement policies and build infrastructures that strengthen the nation instead of sucking us dry. 

Perhaps for a start, you could put a lid on the practice of “gifting” us with token luxuries for the sake of a photo-op. – January 25, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.