Don't give like a cheap politician

If I am a hungry recipient of a food basket, the last thing I would care about is to remember the photo or party logo of the giver if the rations come from politicians.

It’s not that I am ungrateful but I am just too weary to bother about those advertisements/stickers on the items. I am probably very hungry too and my priority is to fill my stomach in order to survive till I get my next meal. And I do not know when I will get to eat again.

So, if you are a politician trying to advertise yourself on the food basket, don’t waste your time. Yes, the recipients are grateful but they are just not in the right frame of mind to remember you.

How do I know this? Feedback from NGO volunteers. Some who observed the recipients opening their “gift” noticed that they were quick to tear off the wrapping and discard them, paying no attention to the photo/sticker at all.

They just want to know what food was given to them for consumption, not anything else. But they would politely thank the volunteers for delivering rations to them.

Early this month, someone forwarded two photos to me – one, a roti bun with the photo and name of a federal minister (from Bersatu) and two, a man wearing a mask (said to be a YB but unverified) from the opposition sticking on his party logo on packets of nasi lemak (the ones you can get for RM1 each).

Seriously, how low can these politicians go? Photo and logo on roti and nasi lemak packets. I wonder who started such a cheap political culture.

It must be those cheap politicians or low-life egomaniacs!

If you do not wish to be called one, then do not indulge in such self-advertising and self-publicity which is nothing but self-glorification really.

What's worse is making use of the pain and suffering of the needy for political capital. Come on, have a heart. People are hungry and in agony. I have to repeat – how low can you go?

The person who first sent me the photos on July 7 then sent another one last Sunday, this time of an opposition Sarawak MP with his photo and name on packets of rice.

I thought the opposition used to criticise government YBs for indulging in such cheap publicity. Now, they are doing the same thing after they became YBs. What the heck?

People are quick to change (not for the better) when they are elected to public office, are they not? They think that becoming a YB has elevated them to a certain status, way above you and me. Soon, they will become sombong (arrogant) – the normal course even some of the more likeable politicians would surely go through.

Let me tell the politicians this: There are many ordinary folks who are involved in helping the needy during these trying times.

I have friends in Kuching and Kuala Lumpur engaged in acts of charity without being in the limelight. Many also donated cash and kind anonymously.

I have received contributions too from well-meaning friends who have requested that I channel them to aid the needy. All of them requested anonymity – no name, no photo, no nothing.

I hope those self-serving politicians would take a cue from these anonymous donors – such kindred souls who gave sincerely and with empathy from the heart.

Let me repeat a favourite line of mine – many kind and honest souls give expecting nothing in return. Politicians, the cheap ones, give expecting others to know that the food came from them and hoping the act of charity could translate into votes for them later. What a great shame!

Oh yes, am I glad that two consumer groups and a volunteer society had flayed politicians for having faces shown on aid packages.

They say it is a cheap political stunt to claim credit for giving aid that is partly paid by taxpayers.

N Marimuthu, president of the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations, was quoted by Free Malaysia Today as saying that “it was a shameless act and that politicians in power appeared to be totally disconnected from the people’s suffering.

Consumers Association of Penang president Mohideen Abdul Kader said it was shocking that politicians were resorting to such “cheap politics” during a health and economic crisis.

“People do not want to see the smiling faces of heavily made-up ministers or MPs on the packs,” he said.

Kembara Kitchen co-founder William Cheah called it a waste of resources.

Estimating that a sticker might cost between 10 sen and 50 sen, he said: “That’s a lot of eggs.”

Cheah added that elected representatives, instead of trying to get publicity for themselves, should be helping in the coordination of efforts to help the needy.

A final word from me – don’t give like a cheap politician but bring a semblance of decency and morality to this act of charity, please. - Mkini

---

FRANCIS PAUL SIAH heads the Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS) and can be reached at sirsiah@gmail.com

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.