My Top 10 Food for Thought During MCO (9/10)

9. Social inequality pricks my conscience The Malaysia society is made up of population from different socio-economic status. Based on the Household Income and Basic Amenities Survey (2016) by the Department of Statistics (DOSM), Malaysian income groups are classified into three categories: Bottom 40% (B40), Middle 40% (M40) and Top 20% (T20). To give an overview, the monthly income range for every category is as per below: B40: < RM4000 M40: RM4000 - RM8000 T20: >RM8000 A Khazanah Research Institute (2018) reported that lower income households spent around 90% of their income on household expenses whereas the the higher income households spent only 45% of their income for the same essential items. At the same time, the middle income households cut back on food consumption due to food inflation. The report revealed that T20 possess 46.2% of the national income share; M40 have 37.4% of the national income share and the B40 get 16.4% of the national income share. [Quoted from The Rakyat Post: B40, M40 & T20: What do they even mean? Kirat Kaur, 8 January 2020] The above statistics gives us a brief picture of socio-economic inequality in our country. Needless to say, the pandemic-lockdown of COVID-19 hits worst at the B40 group. Most of the B40 group are daily income earners such as local food stall sellers, Grab drivers, cleaners, factory workers and so on. Most of them spend their wages on livelihood without any left for saving. While the M40 and T20 are able to stockpile ample food supplies for MCO, the B40 may not even have extra money to survive through the following week. The B40 is financially vulnerable during this season.

Not forgetting there are the homeless group, who do not even has a roof for shelter. As they go through their daily living at public areas such as five foot way, public toilet and petrol kiosk, they are exposed to the highest risk of COVID-19 infection. Therefore, our government has set up temporary shelters for the homeless during MCO. This pandemic-lockdown has reopened my eyes to see the social inequality in our midst. My heart aches to see children and adults suffering in poverty. While we can have food on the table for each meal, lest we forget that there are some living on hunger. While we have a home to stay, lest we forget that there are some living on the street. I find it disturbing that those of fortunate with a better living standard can still generate 101 complaints during the MCO. Have we become so inward-looking that we fail to see the existence of the marginalized, poor and needy? Have we done our part to share resources with the less fortunate?

If you feel your conscience is pricking you, spread love and hope by giving within your means. We do not give because we are rich. Instead, we are rich because we give!