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Malaysians going hungry, but govt out of touch, says MP

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Charles Santiago says without a robust social protection system, some can only afford plain rice or instant noodles with an egg.

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PETALING JAYA:
Some Malaysians can only afford a plate of rice or a bowl of instant noodles topped with an egg as they struggle to cope after having lost their jobs due to the Covid-19 pandemic, says Klang MP Charles Santiago.

He said this was the reality on the ground, and chided the Perikatan Nasional-led government for being out of touch when aiding Malaysians amid the pandemic.

In an exclusive interview with FMT, the DAP man said the reality on the ground was that there were some members of the community who were starving and struggling to put food on the table daily.

He alleged that Malaysians had never experienced this kind of poverty in 20 years.

Free Malaysia Today
Charles Santiago.

When asked if PN was not focused on the real problems faced by the people, he said there had been a failure in planning and a lack of imagination on the part of the government.

“They might say they represent the people and work for them, but the people today are living in hunger. And I’m not telling you this off the top of my head, this is what people are telling us.

“When we go and provide food support for our constituents, they come up to us and say, ‘Thank you very much because this will keep us going for one week’.

“But this should not be the way. The people should be earning their money and the government, in this time of crisis, must be able to support families. We’ve never had this kind of poverty in the last 20 years,” he said.

He said it was insufficient to merely give handouts of RM800 to families in order for them to survive, especially with the cost of basic necessities going up.

Citing a Unicef report and his own exchanges with his constituents, he said many lower-income people were forced to eat instant noodles and eggs every day.

He recounted that on a trip to give out food supplies, several single mothers told him they had not eaten fish or vegetables for months.

“This tells us that the B40 and the lower-middle class have a problem and the problem is that they’re living in poverty.

“I don’t deny the fact that the government is providing support, but it’s not targeted. Whatever support people are getting is actually below the poverty line, or rather below the minimum wage.

“And because we don’t have a robust social protection system, as soon as it’s a crisis and you lose your job, the next thing you know, you can only afford a plate of rice or instant noodles with an egg.”

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