RECENTLY, social media users slammed the Community Communications Department (J-Kom) over its infographic showing that a family of four with a household income of RM1,500 can get by with groceries of only RM391 per month.

J-Kom was trying to refute allegations that due to inflation, many Malaysians, particularly from the B40, are having difficulties putting food on the table. But far from trying to lower the temperature, the poster only infuriated the public even more. 

The breakdown given by J-Kom in the poster did not make sense. They include two chickens for RM37.60; two 10kg bags of rice (RM38/bag), two bottles of cooking oil for RM13.80, a carton of 30 eggs for RM14, two jumbo loaves of bread for RM8.60 and a cylinder of gas for RM19 per month. Are they going to cook without onions or salt? Why didn’t the poster show any vegetables or fruits crucial for a balanced diet? 

It also claimed a single-person household would only spend RM228 a month on these items but in a smaller quantity.

To me, the fact that J-Kom agreed to put up the poster on its social media shows just how detached the department, and by extension the government is, from the plight of ordinary folk.

Even Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil described the post as “tone deaf”, although he agreed with its content.

This incident is a troubling indication of the kind of bubble the government lives in. Did they actually reach out to the public and walk in their shoes before putting up such an infographic utterly divorced from reality?

What about other aspects of governance? For example, Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli recently mentioned that the government is looking into implementing the progressive wage model, where workers’ salaries are required to rise by law.

On paper, this proposal looks appealing to workers. But a closer examination shows there are too many loopholes as it will lead to employers laying off workers or passing on the increased costs to the consumers. In either case, the economy will be worse off than before.

So I implore the Madani government to walk in the shoes of ordinary folk before coming up with half-baked policies that are detrimental to the people it serves. – July 17, 2023.

* Paul Yong reads 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.