ADUN SPEAKS ~ Enriching lives

Wednesday, 6 August 2008

ADUN SPEAKS ~ Enriching lives

I am convinced by now that one of my roles as the state assemblyman is to pool resources together to help those who are needy in Subang Jaya. Recently I visited a poor family in USJ after being informed by their neighbours. I was surprised by what I saw.

Both parents are odd job workers and they have 7 children. When they're at work, their younger kids are left to be attended to by their older children. The youngest is only slightly more than a year old. When I saw the youngest child drinking from a jar, I asked them what he was drinking and they told me that he's drinking water only. I was also told that they have stopped drinking milk for some time because they cannot afford it. Neighbours told me that they have seen the kids drinking from the bathroom before. One child has skin illness while another had a cut on his ear while playing. They only eat porridge at night. Neighbours of different races often helped this family, sometimes by purchasing cooking gas for them. When my assistants heard this, they rushed down to the mini market and quickly bought some bread and ice-cream for the kids. You should have seen the joy on their faces when they ate the ice-cream! My assistant said this to me before we left that place "I know we've had tough times serving people but when I see conditions like this one, I am glad I have the privilege of helping the poor".

Different groups of residents have now offered assistance. I revisited the family again with some committee members of Kiwanis Club of USJ. We discovered that they had a mountain of clothes scattered everywhere in their hall because they do not have a cupboard. The kids sleep on the cold cement floor without mattress or pillows.

I have good news for you. Kiwanis Club of USJ has stepped forward to bless the family with the following:-

a cupboard and dining/study tables
mattresses, bedsheets, pillows and blankets
a television
a stove
shelves in the kitchen
to renew fluorescent tubes
to replace broken windowpanes
to replace kitchen utensils
to refurbish curtains
to wash the mountain of dirty clothes
to provide milk for the kids till December 2008

We have managed to convince the mother to stay home and look after her children. Her previous odd job could only give her RM200 a month. I will apply for RM400 monthly till December 2008 from the state funds allocated to help the extreme poor in my constituency for this family of 7 children.

The Kawasan Rukun Tetangga of USJ 2 & 6 have also pledged to provide groceries worth about RM200 a month for the family.

The combined effort of Kiwanis Club of USJ, Kawasan Rukun Tetangga of USJ 2 & 6 and my office is to give this family a headstart in life. Mr. JM Noel of Kiwanis Club of USJ said this, “Our main concern is to make their house like a HOME. We want the children and their parents to look forward to coming home.”

I must thank these 2 community groups for stepping forward to assist the community they exist in. They acted promptly when they heard of this. I am very pleased with their compassion for this family.

I'm glad the 7 children can now have their mother taking care of them. The kids can now have milk instead of just plain water. They will have proper meals. Cold nights on the cement floor are over. The children can now grow up just like the other children in Subang Jaya.

With the price increases in almost everything, life can only be tougher for these poor families. I am highlighting this to create more awareness that poverty exists in our neighbourhood. I know some may argue that there will always be the poor around but I want to minimise that in my term as a state assemblyman. There are residents who cannot see anything beyond their own backyard. I am glad that there are still many caring Malaysians around. When I shared this with my family during our family dinner last night, my dad said "you have chosen this path to serve the country" and I know I'm blessed with this position to enrich poor lives and not my own. I am of the opinion that politicians and other people of great influence should use their position to enrich the less fortunate ones and not only the pockets of some. Some may think that I am an idealist and live in a naive world of my own. I am not! I stand firm that this is how it ought to be.

The next time you enjoy a cup of ice-cream, give thanks because to some, it is a luxury.