Poverty is not a choice, it is painful

When I talk about poverty within my social circle, I often hear two sets of opinions. The first suggests people remain poor because they are lazy.

The other suggests that poor people have been given too many handouts, hence have no reason to improve their living conditions.

I disagree with both opinions. I believe it is unfair to form judgements when we do not live their lives.

I currently live in a kampung (village) where many plots of land have been cleared to make way for housing aid programmes for the asnaf (underprivileged). Over a few months, I have seen many things I never saw when I was living in the city.

I see big families living in a small one-bedroom house. I see old couples living alone in a house too small to cater for their needs. I see working-age children who are struggling to make ends meet, moving in with their parents into these charity houses, and sharing any available spaces.

I often see them dumpster diving through our neighbourhood garbage bins, looking for something reusable. One day I see them carrying old cushions back home and on another day, I see them dragging broken asbestos roofing sheets - hoping it could somehow enrich their lives.

As for the children, I see them work around the house as if they were young adults, tasked to cook, clean, and look after the younger ones while their parents juggle between the many jobs they do.

Most of the time, I see the children playing out in the streets, for their house is too small to accommodate their needs.

And once in a while, I see the children surviving on papayas and bananas from the neighbourhood orchard when they do not have enough to eat, especially when their parents aren’t able to operate their stall.

Poverty is painful

Being poor is painful. There is no way around that. The theory that poor people are lazy and just not motivated isn’t entirely true. The truth is, it takes a lot of energy and strength to be poor.

When you are poor, you have to juggle long hours and laborious work. You cannot rush home at the end of the day hoping to rest. Most likely, you will have other chores waiting for you at home before you start another hectic day. Being poor, rest is a luxury.

You may be food deprived, oftentimes in poor health, and cannot afford your medication. Your kids don’t get to buy new clothes, school stationeries, or new toys - but kids want to have what other kids have, so they end up pressuring you.

Combine all that with the stress of trying to meet your employer’s needs. How do you tell your boss you need another salary advance because your old car broke down again? How do you tell your boss that you aren’t able to work extra hours because you are hustling with a part-time job?

Knowing that you are easily replaceable, most likely you’d choose to keep silent and try to work things out on your own. But it isn’t easy. The stress of living in poverty isn’t easy.

Are we really committed?

Over the years, many claim to have been fighting poverty, but it is a fight that is far from being won. Our government, previous and current, have come up with different initiatives to eradicate poverty, but in spite of all the aid, subsidies, and programmes, we have not seen real changes.

Last month, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said it is humiliating for a country like Malaysia which has enormous resources but cannot solve the basic problem of hardcore poverty. I cannot agree more. It is indeed humiliating.

Earlier this year, the government expressed its commitment to eradicating poverty through its Malaysia Madani framework – restructuring, restoring, and regenerating the economy. But in terms of its approach to tackling poverty, how committed is the government?

Yes, the government offers monetary aid, housing aid, food aid, and subsidies - but how efficient are these in eradicating poverty? Are these aid programmes catered to the short-term and long-term needs of the poor? Or do they merely provide boxes to be ticked?

Recently, Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan admitted that the government made a mistake by granting subsidies to the wealthy. He stated that the government needed to correct the mistake in order to be fair to the poor.

I don’t know about you, but I think nothing is more humiliating than for a leader who held a few top portfolios in the government since 2013, has an MBA and a 3.85 CGPA, to take almost 10 years to finally come to his senses that subsidies should be privileges meant only for the underprivileged, not the rich.

In fact, every single politician who has been part of the government over the years, yet failed to rectify this “mistake”, should be ashamed of themselves.

This really makes me wonder, are the government and its ministers ever serious about eradicating poverty?

Or has it always been part of the design to keep the poor where they need to be for political reasons? I honestly don’t know.

Address the root cause

I personally believe that reducing poverty requires commitment from both the government and the people. Nothing will change if the government continues to give handouts without responsible policies.

Among the many things that can be done to reduce poverty in our country, I believe these three are priorities: getting a good education, working full-time, and not having children before you can afford them.

The government must come up with policies to ensure children from low-income families get a good education from pre-school, through secondary school, and tertiary education.

The government must start investing in the futures of these children and protect them from parents who may be willing to sacrifice their children’s education to make ends meet.

We must break the cycle where children from poor families continue living a lifestyle similar to their parents because they fail to get a good head start in life.

The government must encourage public and private sectors to offer suitable job opportunities for adults from poor backgrounds despite their experience and education level.

Provide working parents with childcare benefits for both young and school-going children. The government must show commitment to the welfare of the poor by providing them with what they need, making life a little easier for them.

Working-age adults from poor families should be empowered with the opportunity to make something out of themselves.

Too many of our teenagers and young adults are getting married and having children before they can financially afford to do so.

The government should work hand in hand with religious authorities to educate people that having children without financial stability is irresponsible behaviour, one which should be condemned.

People must be pressured to equip themselves with more than just basic necessities before bringing a child into the equation.

Low-income married couples must be educated about family planning and the dangers of having a big family - one which they cannot afford to support financially.

Changing mindset

I believe the government should make real efforts to ensure that people comply with these priorities. And when they do, the government should reward them by making available any form of aid they need to stay afloat.

This, in my honest opinion, would help in changing the mindset of the poor and ultimately improve their lives.

To bring these changes, we need strong and compassionate leaders who are committed to the task simply because it is the right thing to do. What we do not need are politicians who help the poor only to promote themselves as pemimpin berjiwa rakyat (leaders with a heart for the people).

At the same time, the rest of us have to understand that being judgemental towards the poor and accusing them of not trying hard enough to climb out of poverty, doesn’t help to change their condition.

We must get it into this thick skull of ours that it takes all of us - the poor, the middle class, and the wealthy, to build a healthy community.

We need to be more supportive of one another and we must continuously demand the government to do better. Only then can we work towards eradicating poverty. - Mkini

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FA ABDUL is a multi-award-winning playwright and director in the local performing arts scene, a published author, television scriptwriter, media trainer, and mother. Her ultimate mission in life is to live out of a small suitcase.

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