By JOHAN JAAFFAR, Columnist, New Straits Times
AZIZ, Ramasamy and Mei Ling have something in common. They are part of the urban poor. They are the worst affected by the recent fuel hike and the rising price of foodstuff. Aziz lives in Kampung Medan near Petaling Jaya. He came to Selangor 30 years ago. For more than 15 years, he was a squatter in one of the most notorious slums near Jalan Klang Lama. He got married, had six children, and when the area was developed, he was offered a rumah murah (low-cost house). He has to pay RM200 a month for the house.
Ask him what he does for a living and he will tell you he juggles many jobs at any one time. Three times a week, he works as a gardener at the house of a local political chieftain. In the evening, he washes dishes at a stall. At night, he cycles around Petaling Jaya with a plastic bag, rummaging through dustbins and containers for cans, bottles and newspapers. He comes back very late, normally exhausted, after a 16-hour day. His wife cannot help much to supplement his meagre income for she suffers from kidney complications. Occasionally, she makes kuih for sale.
Ramasamy drives a lorry but doesn't own one. He lives in Kampung Gandhi, a stone's throw away from the hustle and bustle of Sunway City. Ramasamy will drive the three-tonne lorry to a specified place every morning. He is not alone. At any one time there are at least 10 lorries vying for attention. These are lorries for hire. Normally, people will look them up when they move house. Ramasamy is lucky to get three trips on a weekday for short distances. On Saturdays and Sundays, he has better luck. But there are times he will just be playing cards with his buddies under the shade.
He gets at most RM15 a trip and, if he is lucky, he gets a little tip. Tips are hard to come by these days. His wife works as a helper at two apartments. She works at a restaurant nearby on weekends. In all, she is lucky to bring back RM600 a month.
Mei Ling pushes her cart every morning to the market, where she tries to sell her wares for at least a few hours. But Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur's enforcement officers are usually there to make sure illegal hawkers like her are not operating. Mei Ling will have to wait for them to leave before she opens the plastic wrapping which serves as container and mat for her cheap products from China -- torch lights, remote controls, batteries, utensils, you name it. Mei Ling is lucky to make RM50 in a few hours, profit not included. More often than not, she comes back empty handed.
Mei Ling works in the evening as a cleaner at a pub. She goes home very late at night. Her three children would be asleep by then. Her mother can keep an eye on the children while she is at work. She wakes up at 5.30am to prepare them for school. Mei Ling is a single mother trying to make ends meet in a city that is becoming more expensive by the day. She has only one purpose in life now -- to make sure her children get the best education. It will be their only means to escape the yoke of poverty that has bedevilled Mei Ling. She lives in a decrepit house in one of the 100 squatter settlements still in existence in Wilayah Persekutuan.
Aziz, Ramasamy and Mei Ling hardly earn RM1,500 a month, a marker for urban poverty today. They are not even aware of such a thing as the Poverty Line Index. Why should they care about the Household Expenditure Survey that is the basis of that measurement? The truth is, we have to look seriously at these people for they are the worst hit when prices escalate. They are sadly either part of the statistics in an ongoing debate on poverty or merely numbers to justify a policy.
Urban poverty is a multi-dimensional phenomenon, no question about that. We are talking about deprivation -- limited access to housing, employment, income, services and, more importantly, opportunities. We have been looking at a money-based poverty definition for far too long so much so that we have failed to look at the bigger picture. We have quick-fix solutions while the causes and prevailing culture leading to its existence are largely ignored.
Similarly, we are addressing urban poverty the way we treated poverty in the rural areas. These are of two different characteristics. The approach to eradicate poverty in the rural areas could fail miserably when applied to an urban situation. There are other dangers for those who feel deprived in the urban setting. They are easily agitated and angered by the realities around them. That would translate into unhappiness which will register loudly in elections.
More than 62 per cent of our population are city dwellers. True, we have succeeded in reducing the incidence of poverty in the country. And yes, we can be proud to be the poster boy of poverty eradication. But again, markers move, indicators shift and measurements are seldom constant. It takes a hike in the fuel price like the recent one and what we have achieved these many years will simply go down the drain.
But one thing is certain, poverty transcends race. And poverty involving people like Aziz, Ramasamy and Mei Ling are real and they are part of us. These are largely unskilled workers or come from single female-headed households. They are the unscripted players in a country that has embarked on rapid development and which has been blessed with incredible achievements. They are at the periphery of economic success and wealth creation.
Someone mentioned about urban poverty as being unfathomable. I couldn't agree more. To some, their existence is nothing more than mere distractions to our success stories. We have no choice but to look at them with a new perspective and seriousness. Remember, the prime minister once reminded us, we are not to allow the future generation to inherit poverty. Now is the time to act. We have to solve one of the greatest tragedies of nation-building.
AZIZ, Ramasamy and Mei Ling have something in common. They are part of the urban poor. They are the worst affected by the recent fuel hike and the rising price of foodstuff. Aziz lives in Kampung Medan near Petaling Jaya. He came to Selangor 30 years ago. For more than 15 years, he was a squatter in one of the most notorious slums near Jalan Klang Lama. He got married, had six children, and when the area was developed, he was offered a rumah murah (low-cost house). He has to pay RM200 a month for the house.
Ask him what he does for a living and he will tell you he juggles many jobs at any one time. Three times a week, he works as a gardener at the house of a local political chieftain. In the evening, he washes dishes at a stall. At night, he cycles around Petaling Jaya with a plastic bag, rummaging through dustbins and containers for cans, bottles and newspapers. He comes back very late, normally exhausted, after a 16-hour day. His wife cannot help much to supplement his meagre income for she suffers from kidney complications. Occasionally, she makes kuih for sale.
Ramasamy drives a lorry but doesn't own one. He lives in Kampung Gandhi, a stone's throw away from the hustle and bustle of Sunway City. Ramasamy will drive the three-tonne lorry to a specified place every morning. He is not alone. At any one time there are at least 10 lorries vying for attention. These are lorries for hire. Normally, people will look them up when they move house. Ramasamy is lucky to get three trips on a weekday for short distances. On Saturdays and Sundays, he has better luck. But there are times he will just be playing cards with his buddies under the shade.
He gets at most RM15 a trip and, if he is lucky, he gets a little tip. Tips are hard to come by these days. His wife works as a helper at two apartments. She works at a restaurant nearby on weekends. In all, she is lucky to bring back RM600 a month.
Mei Ling pushes her cart every morning to the market, where she tries to sell her wares for at least a few hours. But Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur's enforcement officers are usually there to make sure illegal hawkers like her are not operating. Mei Ling will have to wait for them to leave before she opens the plastic wrapping which serves as container and mat for her cheap products from China -- torch lights, remote controls, batteries, utensils, you name it. Mei Ling is lucky to make RM50 in a few hours, profit not included. More often than not, she comes back empty handed.
Mei Ling works in the evening as a cleaner at a pub. She goes home very late at night. Her three children would be asleep by then. Her mother can keep an eye on the children while she is at work. She wakes up at 5.30am to prepare them for school. Mei Ling is a single mother trying to make ends meet in a city that is becoming more expensive by the day. She has only one purpose in life now -- to make sure her children get the best education. It will be their only means to escape the yoke of poverty that has bedevilled Mei Ling. She lives in a decrepit house in one of the 100 squatter settlements still in existence in Wilayah Persekutuan.
Aziz, Ramasamy and Mei Ling hardly earn RM1,500 a month, a marker for urban poverty today. They are not even aware of such a thing as the Poverty Line Index. Why should they care about the Household Expenditure Survey that is the basis of that measurement? The truth is, we have to look seriously at these people for they are the worst hit when prices escalate. They are sadly either part of the statistics in an ongoing debate on poverty or merely numbers to justify a policy.
Urban poverty is a multi-dimensional phenomenon, no question about that. We are talking about deprivation -- limited access to housing, employment, income, services and, more importantly, opportunities. We have been looking at a money-based poverty definition for far too long so much so that we have failed to look at the bigger picture. We have quick-fix solutions while the causes and prevailing culture leading to its existence are largely ignored.
Similarly, we are addressing urban poverty the way we treated poverty in the rural areas. These are of two different characteristics. The approach to eradicate poverty in the rural areas could fail miserably when applied to an urban situation. There are other dangers for those who feel deprived in the urban setting. They are easily agitated and angered by the realities around them. That would translate into unhappiness which will register loudly in elections.
More than 62 per cent of our population are city dwellers. True, we have succeeded in reducing the incidence of poverty in the country. And yes, we can be proud to be the poster boy of poverty eradication. But again, markers move, indicators shift and measurements are seldom constant. It takes a hike in the fuel price like the recent one and what we have achieved these many years will simply go down the drain.
But one thing is certain, poverty transcends race. And poverty involving people like Aziz, Ramasamy and Mei Ling are real and they are part of us. These are largely unskilled workers or come from single female-headed households. They are the unscripted players in a country that has embarked on rapid development and which has been blessed with incredible achievements. They are at the periphery of economic success and wealth creation.
Someone mentioned about urban poverty as being unfathomable. I couldn't agree more. To some, their existence is nothing more than mere distractions to our success stories. We have no choice but to look at them with a new perspective and seriousness. Remember, the prime minister once reminded us, we are not to allow the future generation to inherit poverty. Now is the time to act. We have to solve one of the greatest tragedies of nation-building.
