Feed the orphans,not the giant pandas

A total of RM60 million has been spent on a pair of pandas while orphanges get only 10 prcent annual allocation from the government .

PETALING JAYA: While the government spent RM60 million on two pandas from China, it only costs RM650 to look after a child in an orphanage in Peninsula and East Malaysia, with the barest necessities.

A typical annual cost of a big orphanage with a capacity of 180 children takes RM1.6 million to upkeep annually, while medium sized orphanages with 50 and 80 children takes up between RM360,000 and RM600,000 respectively.

“All these include the childrens daily expenses, education fees, food, general maintenance, utilities bills, medicine, staff’s salary etc ,”said financial manager of Pertubuhan Anak-Anak Yatim Negeri Sarawak (Peryatim) Siti Hatizah.

Peryatim has four orphanages in Sarawak with centres in Miri, Bintulu, Sibu and headquarters in Kuching. The active orphanges in Miri and Kuching needs RM1.8 million annually.

Events Coordinator Henry Ijon at Rumah Hope in Kuala Lumpur told FMT that while orphanages depend on public goodwill to keep running, the government only allocates 10% to the annual expenditure of the centres.

“Last year, we received RM93,000 from the government to help our expenditure however it is still a tight budget,” said Ijon referring to the Rumah Hope’s annual expense of close to RM400,000.

Hatizah added that the government allocates their grants based on headcount of children, however, it fell short this year.

“This year we received RM11,800 from the Sarawak state government and RM212,000 from the Federal Government. A total of RM223,800 is needed for both of the active orphanages in Sarawak.

“The government decided to pay RM8 per child per day for the whole year, yet something is amiss in the calculations this year as we have 263 students but only received RM223,800.

On May 21, Malaysia flew in two giant pandas named Fuwa and Fengyi from Chengdu, China via a special MAS Kargo Airbus .

They were originally scheduled to arrive on April 16, but the date was changed to allow Malaysia and China to focus on efforts to find Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which has been missing since March 8.

The pair were a gift from China to Malaysia to commemorate 40 years of friendship and diplomatic ties.

Bernama quoted Natural Resources and Environment Minister G. Palanivel as saying that the government has spent RM60 million for the upkeep of the pandas.

Palanivel’s deputy, James Dawos Mamit added that of the RM60 million, RM25 million was spent on the pandas’ enclosure, RM15 million on maintenance and RM20 million on rental fee for the first four years.

The government has spent on animals that aren’t even native to Malaysia while orphanages have to make do with only 10% of government grants .

“I still cannot believe the government spent RM60 million on a pair of pandas while we are here struggling to make do everyday, always hoping for the generous contributions of the public.

“This is children we are talking about. We are caring for abandoned and orphaned children with no where to go. It’s so saddening and heartbreaking to see them spend so much on a pair of pandas,” said a distressed Hatizah.

She said if the government had used the RM60 million for all the orphanages in Malaysia, it would’ve relieved the burden on the centres.