JULY 5 — Ramadan has come again. But this time, the arrival of this Blessed Month was ushered with different tests and tribulations for not only Malaysian Muslims, but also for Malaysians in general. Scholars say, tests are bestowed upon the good ones to raise them in ranks, and upon the not-so-good ones, as punishment for their bad deeds.
Only a few weeks ago, the nation was rocked by headlines on little Firdaus who was totally abandoned by his own mother. And before our thoughts could forget the heart-wrenching misfortune that has hit that little disabled boy, all caged up with no food nor clothing, Rakyat Malaysia received another shocker with “Face the Ban or Pay the Fine” double whammy by our FT Minister, just a couple of days ago.
On one hand, I must say, Thank God it came in Ramadan as most of the Muslims have lowered energy levels; otherwise the rage would have been deplorable. On the other hand, I am obliged to say that he could have at least waited for Ramadan to pass by, before imposing such a stern action. After all, we are all rushing to collect the extra Reward Points of Sadaqah that are only accorded in the holy month of Ramadan. But alas, what’s all this sudden fury all about? Is this a test?
In a nutshell, the Minister says, the homeless are a sore eye, they refuse job offers, and the soup kitchens provide a convenient way out. Plus it creates a mess — hence decelerating KL’s meteoric rise to get on to the World’s Most Visited Cities, causing Malaysia to miss the absolute chance to be in the basket of Mastercard’s Global Destination Cities Index. (I added some satire on the second half)
To be honest, I don’t really know the territorial divide of portfolio between the FT Minister, Minister of Urban Well-being, Minister of Culture and Tourism and Minister of Women, Community and Development. But let me make a wild guess, I think there is some sort of an overlap between these four ministries. There isn’t a clear cut, for sure.
Regardless of the answer, and on behalf of regular Malaysias who have stood up to defend the less fortunate with no voice, I would like to reiterate that we “Malaysians”, all of us, are thrown off our chairs and saddened by the decision that was made by Ku Nan. I hope and appeal that this decision will be detracted come Monday. I’ll present my reasons.
First, let me tell you a story.
I used to work in right smack Central KL, and my pathway to work would be the Covered Bridge at Pavillion. Every single day, I would see a handicapped person sprawling his body on the floor, in dirty clothes, his face and body unwashed and all he wanted was some change and few bills. Strategically positioned across him would be a lady with a child on her lap, and her son would sometimes be by her side. Same thing, she would have a small container where passer bys could drop their change in it. The Malaysian weather is not only hot but also humid, therefore I doubt very much that they would be doing it for the joy and fun of it.
If push didn’t come to shove, I don’t think they would be collecting alms day in and day out.
Then, I would walk for the next 150m on the bridge, and on the way down what do I see? Another handicapped person also begging for change and food. My heart goes out to these people who can never be employed, despite what the Minister says. Caring for the homeless, the handicapped, the abandoned old people, the drug addicts, the pregnant lady who got raped, etc… is obviously not for everyone. We know that. It’s a job for the dignified, for the noble, for the chosen ones. And yet, they will be punished and fined for carrying out this noble duty, come Monday.
I have tried to understand from every perspective, I tried to look for reasons, and in the end I only found more answers on how and why we should maintain the Soup Kitchens.
First and foremost, I know for sure that Allah did not create the poor in vain. He has his reasons.
Second, I learned that poverty cannot be eliminated, it can only be alleviated.
Third, every city in the world has this similar problem, it is a common problem worldwide, so why don’t you just deal with it accordingly instead of throwing them out from the city like a used Kleenex? That’s inhumane, don’t you think so?
I’ll tell you something else. I am sure you have heard of Paris being one of the most visited cities in the world, but I am also sure that you don’t take the Metro like most of us do because if you did, you’d realise that no city is free from poverty.
If you took the Metro, you’d be able to pick up the pungent smell in the subways and you would understand that even in the world’s top city, there are homeless who sleep under the Bridge and in the Metro Stations, sometimes even in the cold, cruel winter. But did that ever stop tourists from flocking into Paris? And if that still doesn’t move you, I’ll add just one more thing. Did you know that when the French government laid down the law that disallowed Muslim women to wear the full Islamic Veil in public, a rich French businessman of Algerian descent set up a one million Euro fund to pay fines for women who choose to wear the Burqa in public. And he would also pay fines for all women in whatever country in the world that bans women from doing so. Rachid Nekkaz is his given name.
This is what he said:
“I am calling for civil disobedience,” he told FRANCE 24. “I am telling women to not be afraid to go out wearing their veils. And by paying the fines, I am neutering the law, rendering it inefficient and pointless, showing that it doesn’t work. It is a humiliation for the politicians.”
Perhaps, in our quest to help the poor and the unfortunate, there will be a Good Samaritan like Rachid Nekkaz who would pay for all the fines issued by Ku Nan and co.
Or perhaps, in our desperation to maintain the Soup Kitchens and help the poor, we, the most caring Malaysians can start a Soup Kitchen Fund to pay DBKL fines starting Monday, because there are just certain laws that are meant to be broken!
* This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.
