Being poor...

"Abang,do you have some 'zakat' money?",asked my sister.When I asked why,she told me about her student who can't afford a proper shirt and shoes to wear to school.Being a school  teacher, my sister is exposed to the reality of poverty among her students at a school near my kampong Beris, Bachok, Kelantan.According to an economic report published some years ago,Bachok is the second poorest district in the whole of Malaysia, second only to Tumpat, Kelantan.Now,I think it is the poorest and the most under- developed district in the Malaysia.If you happen to be there and looking for Bandar Bachok,it is not any where to be found!

Before I go home for Hari Raya Puasa(prior to recent economic recession),I usually first met my rich friends in KL.I hope they are still rich to-day. Personally,I am not rich but I am lucky to have some friends who are filty rich.Most of them never fail me-they usually give me at least one thousand ringgit.When I go home,I am loaded with other people's zakat money to distribute to those who really need them.

On one particular occasion,my sister drived me to her student's house.The family lives in a wooden house.They have a few children.The father owns a monkey.Everyday,he goes out to pluck other people coconuts using his monkey.The family barely survived.By the looks of the children,they are under nourished and I think the vicious economic cycle will continue.We gave the family RM 500.00 so that the kids can go to school with proper clothings.The mother of the kid was very grateful.She embraced and even kissed my sister!

Poverty is every where-not only in the remote areas of Malaysia.It is  also in Kuala Lumpur.The incidence of poverty is global;not only poverty exists in Malaysia,it is every where all over the world -even in cities of London,Paris or New York! Poverty does not have any geographical and political boundaries,no race or religion..however it has a universal culture of its own.

One thing that I am sure,the rich will get richer except some who gamble away their money at casinos or stock market. They have all the means at their disposal and all the connections.On the other hand,a few  poor people may get better,however most  will remain poor and also some will get poorer.In my district,the real poor people have not changed much for the last 20 years,either when Kelantan was under Barisan Nasional rule or under PAS as it is to-day:-((

How is it like to be poor?Some of us may have experienced being poor but I am sure nobody wants to be poor.When I asked a friend who had to live a poor childhood,he replied."You don't want to know and I want to forget about it.If I were to tell you,you would not understand".But we do have poor people all the time,all over the world.Is it due to an  economic system that perpetuate the system of creating poverty?Or is it an intrinsic component of  human society to have rich and poor people-and a lot of middle-class in between?

The communists tried to create a classless society, but failed and ended crumbling like the Berlin Wall and made everyone sharing equal poverty instead of wealth.Of course a few party officials are rich!How about the democratic countries in the West?They still have poor people,but the people have better social facilities and supports when compared to countries in the Far East, Latin America  and Africa.
 

Close to home ,Indonesia has the biggest number of poor people.More than a million are in Malaysia earning a living and a few are already making a lot of money.Yet the country is endowed with rich natural resources. What has gone wrong?
I think it is the policy and  management of the economy.On the other hand,Malaysia is also rich in natural resources,but we have less poor people by percentage.However,in the last few years,I think we have our priority wrong in various sectors of social and economic development.We have to spend more fund to empower the poor to get out of poverty vicious cycle-things like housings,health and education.
 

If you are reading this note of mine,most likely you have not experienced being poor.Not many poor people have access to Internet.This is another gap og digital divide caused by Internet. The information and knowledge facilitated by IT will create another gap between the poor and the middle and upper class.Anyway,we see the poor everyday and every where, but what have  we done as an individual to assist them?Do we honestly care about our poor people?If you think you care,what have you(also a question I must answer)done for them in the last one or five years??Or we all blame the government for not doing anything for them or doing something but not enough?Or worse,we blame the poor for being lazy!

Of course the government is responsible,but we are equally responsible as an individual.Or at worst,we are responsible to elect or re-elect an irresponsible government.Honestly,we can't run away from being responsible and accoutable for poor people in our own country,if not for the human race!

I have one suggestion if you really want to help.Adopt a child from a poor family.It is not much and at least you can console yourself that you are part of the solution.

For more articles,see archive.