a short story inspired by my late father
I was once with my late father, in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Kuala Lumpur, when we passed a beggar with obvious disabilities. I thought it strange that my father ~ who was then the Director-General of Social Welfare ~ didn't stop to leave some spare change. How could a man, in such a position, not have any empathy?
I learnt the truth the next day. My father had sent his Social Welfare Officer to the beggar to assess his disabilities and needs, with a view to providing financial, and other, aid. The government has budgets for people who qualify as Orang Kurang Upaya (OKU).
The reason why my father did not give him any spare change is because do so only encourages more beggars and vagrants onto the streets. He explained to me that the System needs to take care of such people. If people have nowhere to live, there are Welfare Homes and Old Folk Homes funded by the Government. There is no reason for them to be begging on the streets.
By similar token, my late father refused to go to private hospitals and was treated all his 75 years in Government Hospitals. It was not a question of not being able to afford private medical care. His reasoning was ~ if it is to be good enough for the people, it has to be good enough for him, a Civil Servant. And the corollary was, if it wasn't good enough for him, it certainly wasn't going to be good enough for the people, and we should therefore improve the System. After all, Civil Servants serve civilians ~ the people that make up our great country.
Comments:
"Your father was a true civil servant and not just a government servant.
My former boss in JKR, Tan Sri Omar, is also one of those rare breeds.
I don't see that anymore these days (including among politicians)."
Mohd Adib Noh, Kuala Lumpur
The Reader
"I have massive respect for the qualities your father showed regarding his responsibility to the people he was, in a way, responsible for. However, ...welfare systems are stretched to capacity around the world; no matter how successful a government's social policy is, there will always be those that slip the net."
Chloe Monroe, London/Los Angeles
Chloe
"What your father did was outstanding, Azlan.
He helped the beggars to survive not only for a day, but for the rest of their lives.
Being a generous citizen is not bad at all but we could also take a brilliant step by using our generosity through the right channel. In our case here, we shouldn't simply give them, the beggars and homeless, what they want. It is much more efficient if we could show them the solution to their problems. Life is not that easy where you just have to sit and beg people for money. But I think Malaysian citizens are too generous, and that's why beggars and vagrants are still everywhere. Even nowadays, begging is regarded as a type of profession. And, yes, their famous 'office' spots are at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and also streets around Pudu area!"
Sheilla Elizza, Kagoshima City, Japan
Elizza
"Your father was a brave and generous man, what else can I say?
Be proud to be his son.
It's remarkable how he believed in the system in a time when everyone doubts everything."
Maike Doornebosch, Groningen, The Netherlands
Maike
News Flash
Fighting Poverty Is Among PM's Priorities
KUALA LUMPUR, March 23 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has told the BBC News that his priority after having been returned to power with a big mandate in Sunday's polls is to reduce the poverty rate significantly, especially among the hardcore poor.
"The issue of poverty is important. Although we have reduced the poverty rate significantly, I don't want to see hardcore poverty," he said in an interview with the BBC after the polls results.
Abdullah said the government had given out assistance also to other communities [besides Malays] to help them emerge from their poverty.
For example the government was also assisting the Indian community, to come out of its poverty and social problems.
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