Sudden partial shutdown leaves low-income people in a lurch

The movement control order from March 18 to 31 has had severely disrupted Malaysian lives, not least of all those from the B40 community, who may not have sufficient savings and live hand-to-mouth.

This was the situation found by volunteer charity worker Fadamir Saad, who came across some desperate indIviduals who were left with nothing to eat following the sudden partial shutdown.

Fadamir, who is a committee member of the charity NGO Pertubuhan Dana Kita, said his organisation has received requests for assistance for basic necessities like rice.

One such person who requested for the assistance, he said, was a golf caddie who is paid according to how many golfers he assists.

The control order, which shuts down all recreational services, including golf courses, cut off his daily wage.

Taking to Facebook to share his experience, Fadamir said the man, who lives in Puncak Alam, Selangor, initially said he could make the 40km journey to the NGO's premises in Gombak to collect a bag of rice.

But Fadamir decided to meet him, since he was travelling towards Puncak Alam for other matters.

Recalling his meeting with the aid recipient he said the man told him: "If I have work that day, then I will have some money to spend. But if no one is playing golf that day, then there will be no cooking in our kitchen."

"Now that the golf course is shut down, I am out of food. I don't even have the money to pay the rent this month, but I will try my best," he told Fadamir.

Fadamir said he had taken the man to a grocery and told him to pick food items he needed for his family for the duration of the movement control order.

However, the man was reluctant to do so because he was worried it would burden Fadamir, who owns a shop selling mobile phone accessories.

In one instance, Fadamir added, the man took a long time to contemplate choosing a bag of Nescafe coffee because he feared it was too pricey.

"In this movement control order, it is people like this man who will feel the brunt," Fadamir wrote.

Pertubuhan Dana Kita is a charitable organisation that assists people from the low income with basic needs, and is distributing groceries to the needy during the Covid-19 crisis.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin pleaded with Malaysians to stay in their homes and limit their movements so the chain of Covid-19 infections can be broken.

On Thursday, the number of positive cases in Malaysia rose to 900 after five consecutive days of triple-digit increases.

Two Malaysians have died from the virus. - Mkini