Cash Assistance for the Poor….

More than 30 years ago when I was in the civil service, I suggested that cash assistance be given to the poor in this country to ease their problems and allow them to focus full attention on their work and help them come out of the quagmire of poverty. After all,the poor and unemployed in many developed countries are given social welfare assistance (monthly cash payment) to enable them to live a decent life.

Of course the idea was considered as unacceptable or even stupid. "Give the poor some money and they will spend it in no time at all without having any long-term impact on improving their source of income. The famous reply was: 'give people some fish and they will have food for one day; teach them how to fish and they can have fish all their life.'Giving them subsidies, development projects, material and technical assistance etc was considered as a better alternative.


Well. the "Bantuan Rakyat 1 Malaysia" or BRIM has now come to stay, if the present government remains in power. It's direct cash assistance given periodically (once a year to be exact) to those earning less that RM3000 a month, including those who are not married as yet. BRIM3 has just been given out and we see pictures of smiling faces of young and old in the newspapers and TV celebrating the magnanimity of the government. More than 3 million Malaysians will receive the gift when the distribution is completed. In addition the government is also giving cash assistance to ALL students in primary and secondary schools while book coupons are also given to help students buy text books and other school requirements.

All these are indications, of course, that the economy of the country and government finance are in a very healthy and promising situation. The financial burden of these cash assistance is nothing much compared to the Funds and Financial Assistance given to the the investment and development sector of the nation, especially to bail out GLCs which are in trouble. The difference is that while the investment and development funds are bound to bring in substantial returns in the near future, the cash assistance given to the low income people are just 'give-away' without any expectation of a financial return.The money can be spent in any way they like and that makes the recipients very happy. The extra money can of course stimulate extra spending and boost up business, for as long as the money lasts.

The question is, how far can the RM650 a year go? You cannot plan anything to make the best use of it because it is not a regular income, not something that you can take into account in your expenditure budget. A cash assistance of, say RM100 a month, can at least help to make ends meet, on a regular basis. But distributing the RM650 over a year will give only RM50+ a month. How much of a help is that? I think there are many other ways direct cash assistance can be given with better long term result in boosting the income of the poor.

But people are very happy receiving the once-in-a-while gift. Like kids receiving an angpow from a rich Uncle, with no conditions attached in terms of how you can spend it. So, happy spending folks! When the money is gone just wait for BRIM 4,5,6 etc.

, PS. Tun Dr Mahathir, the former PM of Malaysia expressed the following view on the BRIM cash assistance:

'Tambah Mahathir lagi, kerajaan telah memperuntukkan RM3.5 bilion kepada 7 juta rakyat Malaysia dan ianya disifatkan satu pembaziran dengan jumlah yang besar.( gist: the payment of RM3.5 million to 7 million is considered as a waste).

“Masih terdapat golongan individu atau keluarga yang miskin di negara ini, kita sepatutnya menggunakan peruntukan tersebut untuk membantu mereka,” jelasnya. (there are still poor individuals and families who should be assisted).

Transform or Reform?

Everybody wants to change for the better. But what is better? How do you ensure that the change is not for the worse? Sometimes one is not even sure whether the change (or changes) that came about is what you want and gives you a better deal in life or it's more retrogressive in nature. The same applies to a country as it does to a person.

When a person is transformed, we expect a change in his or her personality and character or maybe even in his or her physical look through modern plastic surgery. Always for the better but some old characteristics can be expected to remain, maybe in a more refined manner. If he were disrespectful or dishonest before, we expect hims to become respectful and honest. The change is not total but very markedly significant, moving from a negative to a more positive position or grading. But if a person is reformed, it means that he had undergone a radical change as in the case of a criminal who has undergone a reformatory confinement. We expect a restructuring of his or her personality, to the extent that some old habits or traits are entirely eradicated and replaced with new and healthy ones. A criminal might turn into a very religious and God-fearing person.high income=high cost of living

We in Malaysia seem to face a choice in our political development: a transformation (transformasi) or a reform (reformasi). I don't think anyone had cared to explain to us the difference except that one is mooted by the government in power and the other by the opposition. The government had embarked on a program of political and economic transformation, to become a developed nation by 2020. Well, we are only some six years away from the target and only three to four years away from the next GE.Much has been done by the government to transform things on many front with a very intricate/sophisticated system of evaluation which the common man may find difficult to follow.yee sang,prosperity for all (but the poor)

But certain things are obvious in spite of the success shown by the self-developed indicators. Some of the so-called political transformation in the parties that form the coalition government do not show convincing results and too much of the old characteristics remained as before or as some say in an even worse form. Can a party change or transform itself when most of the old personalities remain
without undergoing any radical change? The attitude they show in facing pubic complaints about rising costs (if you don't like the country go elsewhere, if certain things are costly don't buy them, let's cut public expenditure -on administration and services - and subsidies to reduce government spending etc.), show a haughty or some say, a stupid response. While many steps are being taken to reduce government expenditure, billions are being spent on the creation of multifarious Funds (who distribute them?), subsidising private companies which had taken over public services through privatisation and are not doing well because of exorbitant pay packets for high executives (often ten times or more that of senior government officials) and expensive management style not checked by government, and giving periodic handouts to the low income people to assist in keeping up with the rising cost of living.a long way to go

The transformation programs have been going on for a couple of years now and the public is evaluating their result. The old trademarks of the parties in power are still the same in spite of the addition of new faces for they must follow the ethics of the old vanguards or be thrown out. The reformists have been in power in some States for quite some time and are yet to show results better than the transformists.There seem to be too much squabbling in their ranks and one can understand why they cannot do much being surround by the transformists. The water woes in Selangor is case in point where the State cannot tackle the problem the way it wanted because of Federal influence.

So, transformasi or reformasi, things go on as usual. Do our young citizens understand the issue or are they too busy watching TV with all the choice of programs now made available by Astro. They seemed to so engrossed by the modern TV dramas and soap operas while the modern handphones served all other communication meeds, that they don't care if the costs of thing doubled or tripled. After all their parents are still paying the bills until they set up a home of their own and they find out that even a one-storey terrace house might cost almost a million ringgit. The water and electricity bill can take away a huge chunk of their income and annual evaluation rate for their homes might leave them constantly in the red.

Crazy Weather, Hope not the people too.

frozen Lake Michiganeven the sphinx's not spared We've read about the weather going crazy in many places in the world. Snow is falling like crazy in certain parts of the US, UK and China. Rivers and Lakes including the mighty Niagara and the great Lake Michigan are freezing. We might have river of ice entering certain towns or cities. Snow has fallen in some part of Egypt, the Philippines and, even Indonesia? The temperature in certain parts of the northern coast of Malaysia has dropped to 17 degrees Celsius.That's cold for an equitorial country used to a temperature of 30-38 degrees.
snow in Indonesia?

What's going on? Is this the very early sign of a new Ice Age with the Poles shifting position as some people say? Or is doomsday approaching?

What's more disturbing is the virulent changes in the political climate in many countries especially in the middle and far east - Eqypt, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Afghanistan, Bangkok etc. People just seem to have become so belligerent towards fellow citizens who don't share their political sentiments, support other candidates other than theirs in the election, hold different convictions on how to run the government, hold different views in religion, support different masters or accept different countries as their saviour. People resorted to violence and killed each other without compunction or compassion. Peaceful negotiation and brotherly compromise seemed to have been thrown to the dogs. Everyone seemed to be getting at someone
else's throat.

What's going on with the world?There seemed to be so much hatred and frustrations, that people are willing to kill their own kind (hopefully not their kith and kin) to get what they want, especially when they have been in power for some time. or a long time and people want a change. And yet we say that people are now more educated, more sophisticated and more mature in their views and thoughts. I sometimes see the people in a country warring and killing each other as half-witted children who just like to vent their anger on those who don't accept them as friends.

A very interesting question to ask is: to what extent has the what may be called the "democratic liberators" of the world helped to bring about order and peace to these troubled countries, especially where they intervened directly. Are the countries they had liberated and democratised more peaceful and progressive than before? Or are they worse of? The world can surely judge for itself but how can you judge the judges? Thet's another great craziness that I see affecting the people of the world today.

The New Realities

There's no doubt that so many things have changed in Malaysia. For better or worse? That depends on what change we're talking about and which side of the fence you're sitting on. The most heated issue now seems to be the rising cost of everything that you require to live a decent life, and the use of the word "Allah" in reference to God Almighty in the Bahasa Malaysia version of the bible.


It's obvious to me that the second issue is slowly becoming more malignant as presented by the media. Heated arguments are heard everywhere especially after JAIS ( Selangor State Department of Religion) raided a church and confiscated several volumes of the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia where the word "Allah" is used. Such usage had been prohibited by the State Religious Department.

Is this a way of 'cooling down' the first issue? I was ready to accept the rising cost as a result of rapid development and the salary hikes which government servants have been receiving and the promulgation of a minimum pay for all workers. Until I was asked to pay 50 sen for every piece of "kueh" (tea-time edibles such as char kuey, kueh gulung, fried banana - not cakes
which can cost up to RM8 a piece or more) which I could get three for a ringgit before.Other popular food such as roti canai and nasi lemak have gone up in price so many times that nobody cares anymore. What's interesting is that there has never been a survey on all these prices and an assessment of whether the prices are reasonable or not.

If the advice of some ministers were to be followed, we shouldn't buy anything when the price goes up. Don't buy clothes if the price goes up! Don't eat chicken if the price is too high!So,don't buy the cakes. Let only the rich Malaysians enjoy life in Malaysia while the not-so-rich and, of course, the poorer lot can just watch. We talk of 1 Malaysia where Malaysians of all races enjoy equal status and privileges. But what about the widening gap between the high-income or high-salaried lot and the still-struggling low income or 'new poor'? That can certainly create a new division or socio-economic dichotomy.It's a well-known fact that the income distribution in Malaysia has become more distorted in recent times, not to mention the Bumi and non-Bumi gap. Are all these issues being also overshadowed by the usage of "Allah" in the Bible squabble?

I feel that Malaysians today are loosing their sense of priorities and significance. More critically important things are being hushed up or soft-paddled while the highlight is given to emotional and highly equivocal issues which can never be resolved without a simple compromise. Attentions are easily swayed by the media; the age-old issue of overcoming poverty and dealing with rising prices resolved by doling out some financial gifts periodically without any assurance of getting them on a regular basis. Even the police seems to be concentrating on issuing summons for traffic offences and collecting fines rather than deal with thefts and housebreaking which are rampant.

Malaysians must certainly review their priorities in the light of the new realities facing them now. They should not allow the media to draw away their attention from the things that are affecting their lives more critically than some of the issues now focused on by the prime media.

One -handed Man

we are so used to doing work with both hands that left with one hand, you can hardly do anything. Losing both hands would of course make you a cripple, especially if the loss was permanent. Yet we see people with no hand being able to cope with life magnificently or courageously. However losing the use of one hand temporarily can be an interesting experience and can teach you many wonderful things.
I injured my left hand while working in my one-acre orchard or "kebun" about a month ago. It happened while trying to get my heavy lawn-mower into the truck using two pieces of planks as a sloping platform to pull the contraption up. While pulling it up it slipped and fell off. I stopped it and lifted the mower up onto the truck with both hands. No sweat. But a day later my left wrist began to swell like a cake in the oven and it hurt like hell. I nursed it for a few days applying traditional massage. It got worse and I finally went to see the doc.

A wrist bone was fractured as the X-ray film showed. Since it was not broken and only fractured only a strap was applied but my left hand became entirely useless for even picking up a cup or glass brought a spasm of pain running up my entire left arm.From thence on I became a one-handed man.

Wow. Can't even put on or take off my pants or sarong without help.Can't button my shirt or open a door with my left hand when the right one is carrying something else. Praying became an ordeal since you have to move your left arm up and down and help to hold your weight when bowing low on the floor (sujud). God. You can't even clean your bottom with the left hand or hold the spray pipe so that you can do the work with your right hand. Any slight movement of the left hand or the fingers on it would give you a shot of pain that cause your eyes to water although you weren't crying. Playing with the grandchildren or even fooling around with the wife because a great hazard. A slap on the left hand would make you cry with pain.


Hey, you suddenly become a VIP with your wife, kids, relatives and friends giving a ready hand in whatever you do. I have to sit in the back seat of the car with a toddler when travelling around as the wife or the toddler's mother does the driving. Can't use the folk and spoon when eating and you get help in getting whatever you want into your plate. You can't chat on th phone or iPad while laying in bed nor read a book which you've to hold up. God, there were so many things you couldn't do.

So, I know fully well now why God gave you two hands. Try living for a day with only one hand and see if you can manage to survive, less so enjoy it. Many things are happening in Malaysia, may beloved country, that caused a lot of concern and unhappiness. Prices of consumer goods are just shooting up like crazy in spite of the so-called price control, and so are the charges or rates for services and rentals. Prices for houses and land are putting the lower middle-income group out of competition for ownership and giving the rich an open field for expanding their estates. The increase in prices far exceeds the rise in salary for the common workers and public servants although private sector Chairmen,Directos etc and politicians holding public posts in government are getting huge pay jokes. Tenaga Nasional employees are to get a five-months' bonus this year while electricity tariff will increase next year by about 14%.

More disturbing, fishes, crabs and shells are getting out of the sea and coming onto the shores in Sabah, Terengganu and elsewhere. Why is this happening? What disaster lies ahead? Let's pray that Malaysia will remain a peaceful and progressive country with the leadership caring more for the common denominator of the population rather than promoting the greed and ambition of the rich and powerful. Wealth would mean nothing if the country ends up in protests and chaos as a result of the chase for a developed and high-income status.

Picking up the pieces

After about two months of absence from yhe country, doing pilgrimage to Mecca and recovering from jetlag and spiritual readjustments (readjusting from a life of prayers and supplication to Allah then crashing back into the material world is not quite easy), I find myself rather disoriented. There were too many things that didn't maku much sense to me.

The first thing that baffled me was to see a notice from Citihall addressed to a relative imposing on him aa assessment tax of RM131,200 a year for an acre of undeveloped agricultural land in Sungai Pencala. I understand tha the value of land in that area has been reevaluated, the status othe land having been changed from agricultural to industrial. The previous year he had to pay about RM400. The new charges almost gave him a heart attack, and indeed he had to undergo an operation for a minor heart attack later. A evaluation or cess tax of RM131,200 f year for an acre of lang isjust ludicrous to. There must be a mistake somewhere in the caculation although Citihall blendly talked of a 300% raise in the tax. Even a tax of RM12k or RM13k would force the old man to sell the land...

On reading the papers I saw that the new rate imposed by Citihall has shocked people in many areas in Kuala Lumpur including Jinjang and Kepong. A 300% raise in evaluation tax is certainly somethi g never heard in the history of thiscountry.

Then I heard the overall cry of anguish. "The price of almost everything has gone up by leaps and bound, especially that of petrol. Electric and water charges will also go up and so will the toll rates. The only thing that comes down in this country is rain...rain and more rain causing the worst flooding in Pahang and Trengganu." Then there was the announcement about the raise in the allowances of Prime/Chief Minister, Ministers and parliamenterians in xpite of the millions needed to help the flood victims.

We hear also that lands for new indusrrial and commercial purposes are being sold to foregner in the new development corridors, at fantastic prices. It follows tha the coomercial buildings and shophouses (including residential homes) will be built an sold at fantastic pricess, far beyond the financial capacity of the non-superrich Malaysians to buy. Yes, there are rich Malaysians too but very few Bumis. Even now the luxury homes in commercial areas are not affordable to the Bumi middle claas. So, how is the economic status of the Bumis going to be improved vis-a-vis the incresing strength of the non-Bumis?

The country is making haste to become a developed nation by 2020. The Per Capita is supposed to shoot up to RM15,000 or more. The income of workers are to be raised. But what we see is prices of consumer good going up faster than the rise in the personal income of workers. So is the charges fo public services now taken over by the private sector and the taxes or avaluation rates.

Is the standard of living and level of comfort in life really improving? Are the citizens getting more for the rinngit they earn or there's just more ringgit but of less value? We can only ask questions. Ghe leAders must provide honest answers and not reply to the hard questions in equivocal platitudes as we often here in parliament.

Pilgrimage to Mecca.

Muslims are required to undertake a pilgimage to Mecca if they can afford to do so. That is the fifth mandatoey reqirement of Islam after reciting the syuhada, praying five times in a day and night,fasting in the month of Ramadhan and paying the zakat. After the pilgimage, a Muslim automatically becomes a Haji.

I was most fortunate to have the opportunity of doing the pilgrimge last October. I've heard and read a lot about it and even did the umrah ( pilgrimage to Mecca only) a couple of times. But the experience of doing the full Haj is entirely different, especially this year when the Haram Mosque is undergoing a thoruogh renovation.

I'm not refering to the religious and spiritual aspect of the pilgrimage but the life experince that one goes through for the 45 to 48 days pilgrimage. The religious and spiritual experince itself is most illuminating but the life experience is to say the least, traumatic. It's most behumbling and humanitizing.

The training given before the pilgrimmage by local community mosqoes and by Tabung Haji (The National Pilgrimage Fund Board) would prepare one wirh all the prayers and recitations (do'a)that the pilgrimage would require. There's no possibility of learning all by heart since some could be very long, unless one has already read and memorized them a few months ahead. There's no necessity to do so anyway since colorful and easy-to-read pamphlets had been prepared for easy consultation while on the move. It's the simularion of the actual activities, ceremony,and procedure involved in performing the Haj that is most edifying. More importantly it's the act of doing things in a group of people you have't met which is most interesting. Adults and senior citizens when grouped together to perform certain activities that require spontaneous cooperation and synchronization can create quite a strange scene. The training and rehearsal only involved a few thousand at a time and a total of 22,000 would-be hajis from Malaysia. The pilgrims from all over the world whobwill congregate in Mecca will run into several millions.

The procedures and activities focused on involveD wearing the ihram - flat unsewn white cloth- and observing its prihibitions throughout the performance of the pilgrimmage's rites, performing the tawaf ( walking around the kaabah, performing the sae (walking and running between two mounts ie Safar and Marwah, stoning the devils at three sites and, of course, performing the various prayers at different places. Actual performance was simulated by the course partipants to get the "feel" of the actual experience.

But nothing is like the actual thing. When we arrived at the alotted hotels im Mecca, the place was teeming with Haj pilgrims, some in ihram others wearing normal though Arabized clothes - the jubah and headcloth. The crowd around and (as ascertained later) within the Haram Mosque was jampacked and almost impenetrable. One immediately realised that the Muslims of the world who congragated in Mecca during the Haj season ( October and November)easily ran into several millions. Almost all were dressed in white.

The routine involved in performing the tawaf and sae need not be discussed here but the behavior of people from varios parts of the world in performing the routine is a very edifying lesson in human behavior of people seeking the grace of Allah. The frantic shouts and recital of various doas, the pushing and jostling to keep in the company or group or friends,the frenzy of heightened emotions and spirituality in calling out to Allah for forgiveness, blessings and love, the crazy rush to kiss the hajal aswad (sacred stone), the wild hacking of the crowd for space to pray or move in and out of the human fiord etc makes one feel that your existence in this world is a mere accident and the world can easily trample on you.

But the more challenging experience was the night spent in Muzalifah collecting some 70 pebbles for the " lontar jumrah", stoning the devils and their friends, sitting around in the crowded space teeming with people in your ihram, with the cold wind blowing in your face. You're required to stay there for nothing less than five and a halh hours emulating what the Prophet (pbuh)did during his pilgrimage to Mecca. It was past 2.00am when we were taken to our tents in Arfah where the wukuf will take place. That's when the Muslims in Malaysia and elwhere celebrate Eidul Adha or Hariraya Haji. Three nights in the crowded tents in Arfah we moved on to Mina where the "lontar jumrah" (stoning the devil) takes place. The first throw involving a 5km walk to and fro with a few walkalators to ease the tired legs, involved throwing seven pebbles at the Jumrah Kubra only.
This must be followed by three more throws on separate days involving all three Jumrahs ie the small, the medium and the big jumrah. All the walks involved thousands of people filling up the roads, the tunnels and the walkalators.

Staying in the crowded tents and sleeping in rows with feet almost touching each other, eating food served in styrofoam trays, waiting in long lines to use the toilet and bathrooms, walking some distance to get hot water to prepare your own breakfast of maggi mee and biscuits, praying in groups in your own tent following an unseen Imam but only hearing his voive over the mike, formed the major chores of the day, choosing your own time to perform the "lontar jumrah" in the morning, afternoon, or night. The campsite and the road to the Jumrah were at all times crowded and jampacked with people, including roadside paddlers selling all sorts of wares from food and drinks to trinkets and clothes.

After four days in Mina, we were brought back to Mecca for the final part of the Haj routine ie performing the "Tawaf Haji" and "Sae". It's the same as doing the umrah but after the first "lontar jumrah kubra" amd the compulsory cutting off a few strands of hair or shaving the head completely ( which I did for the first time in my life) you are allowed to take off the ihram and dress up freely. The ladies however must continue to wear their usual "telekung" (robe) though not necesarily in black or white.

The entire experience of living and perforing the Haj pilgrimage routines for more than a month is really an experience that one can never forget. It's the experience of a lifetime and a Muslim who has not gonebthrough the process even after doing the umrah a couple of times will not know what becoming a full Muslim really means. Subhallah.