KUALA LUMPUR: The Welfare Department and other relevant agencies have been criticised for not doing enough to reach out to the urban poor and provide them with financial assistance.
As a result, many low-income earners in the city have reached the point where they cannot carry on with their lives, especially with the recent rise in prices.
One such person is 55-year-old Siti Rohani Leman of the Taman Sentul Utama flats who has to look after herself and a husband who is paralysed. Both are unemployed.
Their only income is the RM220 pension of her husband, Mat Wazir Shafie, 60, a former gardener, and the RM600 from her children for looking after her grandchildren.
"Even with RM800 a month, I have to struggle to make ends meet. It is not enough, believe me. I have seven children but they are all leading their own lives so I have to depend on whatever I have," she said at her home on Wednesday.
Asked whether she knew of the assistance provided by several agencies such as the Welfare Department, Baitumal or Tabung Haji for the needy, Siti replied: "Yes, I know, but I am house-bound and cannot leave my house. It is not easy for me, plus I don't know how to go about getting the aid."
Suhakam commissioner in charge of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria said under the criteria set by the Welfare Department, Siti was not eligible for any aid as she did not come under the bracket of people who were deemed as needy.
He also said the Welfare Department should deploy more officers to do housecalls instead of waiting for the poor to approach them.
"Some of them are not aware of the assistance provided by these agencies, so it is best if the Welfare Department or other relevant agencies can go to the ground and check on these people and at the same time they can also update their data."
He said because of the present situation many urban folk were turning anti-establishment as they felt neglected by the government.
"I have met so many of these people and they told me they are Bumiputera and yet had nothing. I thought this problem was only among the Indians, but it seems that I am wrong."
He said the authorities such as the Welfare Department should rebuild their networks with community heads like the surau chairman for people living in these low-cost flats to use as a referrence point in order to provide assistance.
"In kampungs, the Welfare Department has a link with the village head, but for those living in urban areas they don't have such contact. That is why it is important to have a reference point. With such a reference point, the Welfare Department can then have a liaison person to speak to and find out more about the situation on the ground."
Secretary of the surau for the block of flats where Siti lives, Abdul Rahim Osman, said the residents had been neglected by the authorities for a long time.
"Just look at our flats which are not conducive for living.
"We have identified close to 30 families who are hardcore poor and we are doing all we can to help them, but it is so hard with all this bureaucracy."
No comments:
Post a Comment