Commentary by Mustafa K. Anuar

IN the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, ordinary Malaysians, particularly those in the B40 and, to some degree, M40 groups, are suffering under the weight of a battered economy.

Given that many have been laid off, their salaries halved or their small businesses folded, financial and other forms of assistance are essential to make a difference to their shattered lives, no matter how small the impact or benefit is.

That is why it is disturbing to learn that Umno politicians are against the proposal from Pakatan Harapan (PH) that monetary allocations be given equally to all MPs, who are expected to use the funds in their respective constituencies.

To be sure, the economically vulnerable reside in many of these constituencies who deserve help. And it shouldn’t matter who they voted for as it is their democratic right to choose their representatives and, thus, such discriminatory treatment does not sit well here.

All the more so because these allocations come from the taxpayers’ money that should be utilised for a common good.

In their supposed defence, the Umno MPs argued that PH wasn’t fair either when it came to MP allocations during its short-lived rule.

If such an opposition to the proposed equal monetary allocations is really about tit for tat, then it is most unfortunate that it is committed at the expense of the constituents, particularly the needy.

One would, in fact, hope that the Umno MPs, or for that matter, the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, would be magnanimous and exemplary. Or, is that too much to expect of politicians drenched in partisanship at a time when the country is facing economic hardship it has never seen in time immemorial?

The proposal for equal allocations emerged as one of the demands made by PH to the PN government as part of the confidence-and-supply agreement mooted recently.

Surely, this was what Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah meant when he called on politicians to cease politicking that would hamper effective efforts to curb the pandemic, resuscitate the economy and improve the people’s welfare.

If we need reminding of the people’s misery, two examples that had made their rounds on social media, should suffice to illustrate the point.

First, a retrenched pilot, all dressed up in his profession’s uniform, is now grounded to his roadside stall to sell food to make ends meet.

Second, a woman, who suffers from cerebral palsy, goes around in her motorised wheelchair to run her Grab food errands against the elements.

Against this backdrop, the move made by former education minister Dr Maszlee Malik to focus on providing food to people in his Simpang Renggam constituency is commendable as it underlines the urgency of helping the rakyat in need, irrespective of their ethnic, religious, cultural and political affiliations.

He also attempts to show that excessive politicking exacts heavy toll on the ordinary Malaysians in these trying times.  

Driven by the simple philosophy that no one should go hungry, the former co-founder of the yet-to-be registered Pejuang party targets poor families, single mothers, families with disabled children and residents without food as the beneficiaries of his aid programme.

If politics is to be relevant in the hour of need, the welfare of ordinary people obviously must come first. – November 5, 2020.