I dont usually post anything on politics. Close to half of my youth was spent watching my mom’s side of the family toiled in politicking and some stuff that I saw wasnt that nice. But in light of the recent snap election last Saturday, 8th March 2008, I would like share a few thoughts here.
BTW, here is a link for a quick glance of the result on last election.
Some of my foreign friends asked me, what does this election results meant to me and how do I see it would effect me and my family in general. To be honest, it is still premature to say anything smart yet, at least to me. But I feel the result is a true wakeup call for Barisan Nasional as a ruling party and Pak Lah as the Prime Minister. The citizen has spoken and the results say they want change in a lot of areas.
As a layman, I am talking here as a single mom who needs to raise a school going teenager. Yes, they abolished the school fees and handed out school books scheme but the school still imposed a few other fees that came easily to some good digit. The school book loan scheme is good in general but a few key books are still not available, even in March 2008.
I drive out from my house to send Lyn a good 15km one way each day for her school, and a further 5 km for work. I clock in an average 80km a day for work-related travel with a good dose of toll charges that seem to be endless from Point A to Point B. With the cost of rising petrol I spend a good deal of money on something which is one of the core living expenses for me. And thats a lot. I really dont care whether they say they are subsidising a good portion of the petrol and that Malaysia has one of the lowest petrol costs in the world. What I see is the money that came out from my pocket every two days.
Lyn spends an average RM10.00 a day on her food and some other teenager stuff, not including her prepaid card for her phone. Mobile phone is no longer a luxury for us but more of a necessity now since I work the entire day and she needs to communicate with me on her whereabouts.
Basic living expenses such as bread, rice and other general groceries have seen some increase as well for the past few months. I remember just barely a couple of years ago, I would be a happy shopper at the market with just RM50.00 in my pocket. But nowdays, as much as I try, after picking up simple basic necessities stuff in the basket, the total would reach about RM100.00 or so. I dont think I want my daughter to be eating simply sawi alone for next 30 days as it is the cheapest vegetable on the shelf.
Minimum wage has not changed that much for the past decade. I am quite lucky in a sense that I draw a decent number every month and the overhead expenses are not that much, lest the periodical bank charges etc but still I can feel the pinch. It’s hard. Very hard infact.
Banks are not really helping the smaller business community. As much as much they say they want to help the new and up coming SMIs, they still impose close to impossible requirements. For a small start up, at least a working capital of about RM100,00.00 is needed. A good portion of that would go to branding and advertising, product development etc and these are some of the areas that need to nurture new ventures. A commitment start up fee from the entrepreneur of at least 10% is usually needed. Not many has that kind of money. They either need to beg or borrow to get this.
Changes. Thats what the laymen want.
- I want a better education system for my daughter who at the moment is caught up in an exam oriented government school system and not making her a full rounded citizen. She barely knew about the history of how Malaysia came about as a merdeka nation simply because there are not enough emphasition on this topic. Her school friends talk nothing less but to score 11As in their exams but the minute I ask them where is Sandakan or who is the second Agung of Malaysia, they gave me a weird look.
- I want a more realistic cost of living as oppose to basic sustainance that I, as a simple person, is getting each month. With extra spare for a more realistic amount to add to savings and one or two simple luxuries.
- I want a safe environment where I dont have to worry about my daughter being raped or harassed. A more severe law should be imposed for child abuse and woman related cases too.
- I want a strong execution for any Syariah court decision for ex husbands who doesnt want to pay up and own up to alimonies, and not just making a mockery of the religion and insulting the intelligence of the women. How many court papers must we serve before we get paid what is due to us? The amount is usually so paltry that it has become a laughing matter.
- I duly pay road tax, income tax, service tax, Government taxe on almost anything that I get my hands on nowadays – be it roti chanai at the mamak shop, my regular teh tarik, nasi campur, coffee…..the fish that Im paying in my regular wet market is expensive because it came from the neighbouring country (and the local fish are exported). The local beef is expensive as compared to the yucky tough meat that has been disguised as a “imported from India” packed beef. Chicken has gone up from RM4.50/kilo to close to RM7.00/kilo sometimes. Red chilies used to be about RM3.00/kilo and now is about RM9.00/kilo.
It has been tough and these are the things that the Malaysian citizens are talking about.
Life Is One Big Stage 