POVERTY is a crisis which root cause goes beyond laziness, dependence, and financial illiteracy. We need to understand of the root causes and stop the prejudicial judgments 

The elite try to normalise exploitation by telling people to be grateful for what they have, despite the fact that they are underpaid, have no social security, no medical insurance, the list goes on. 

The entire notion of being grateful in the name of discrimination is too problematic, and it is time to address it. 

Abdullah Munsyi, Za’ba, and Syed Hussein Alatas all say poverty is the “aftermath” of poor leadership. Corrupt leaders set the path for future generations, establishing a vicious cycle that continues to devastate our social system. 

Another form of mental colonisation against the poor is the idea that “you are not working hard enough”. We have all heard the life story of the engineering graduate who became a successful seller of nasi lemak. Our leaders take pride in the stories and encourage the graduates to embrace entrepreneurship while simultaneously covering up their failure to create job opportunities.

We need to acknowledge that entrepreneurship is not for everyone. Too much focus on entrepreneurship will discourage people from seeking an education because what is the point when wealth is possible without it?

A 2018 Bank Negara report showed Malaysian workers were paid less than workers in benchmark economies. But such was not the case for our Malaysian CEOs. I’m quite curious about how productive our CEOs were or was there another reason for the discrepancy in pay?

Multiple perspectives of poverty, such as mental health, need to be considered to understand its manifestation. A Unicef report showed that our children are malnourished, a situation that has become worse since the Covid-19 pandemic.  

We need affirmative action. We cannot just advise people to work hard while they are being underpaid and not in good health while the big shots are being overpaid.

We need to think outside of the box instead of slamming the poor for failing to manage their life priorities.

Finally, Malaysians regardless of religion, class, and race need to fight together against normalised discrimination. We cannot deny the right of every human to achieve a standard of living that they aspire to. We cannot allow Malaysians to work hard without adequate compensation. Heads of households must be enabled to spend time with their family. 

“Poverty is not just a lack of money; it is not having the capability to realise one’s full potential as a human being.” – Amartya Sen. – December 14, 2022.

* Syafiq Sham, Puteri N. Balqis and Nisrina Syaurah read The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.