Kangkung is a rich man's game
Andrea MathewPublished: Jan 23, 2014 12:41 PM | Updated: Jan 23, 2014 4:13 PM
The kangkung fiasco is stale. And it has left a bad aftertaste.
The kangkung fiasco is stale. And it has left a bad aftertaste.
If wealth is power, it is no wonder the government decided it was okay to determine our lunch menus. To think the average Malaysian is working hard to aspire for a good serving of kangkung on their dining tables and that a price drop would rouse a household celebration, is ignorance at its worst. It is an indication of how distant our government is from its people.
After all, how can one who is focused on crafting the details of his personal luxury jet empathise with the father who cannot afford to pay his son’s school busfees after they were raised at the beginning of the school year?
But perhaps, wealth has a way of isolating man from society.
Wealth presents escapism from the daily grinds of life that can keep a government which has been elected by the people and for the people, terribly distant from its people.
Mundane activities of grocery shopping that depend entirely on price fluctuations have no bearing on one who spends millions of ringgit on utility bills. The average parent is perpetually confronted with the task of serving a family of five a healthy meal that consists of more than just kangkung, while struggling to stretch each ringgit. These same choices are the only financial solution to save enough to provide their children a university education they never had.
However, the five-figure paycheques of government officials have given them the privilege of driving through rush hour traffic like a Sunday ride on the freeway. So a petrol price hike or a raise in public transport fees are completely irrelevant to them. Perhaps wealth gives a false sense of entitlement, leading to prioratisation of self-interest over the needs of the masses. A dangerous path when one’s main duty is to serve the needs of the masses.
For some to say the kangkung analogy was a mere example is trivialising the mandate given by the electorate. An electoral vote that has chosen a government to be its voice of reason. But the complacency that creeps in after 56 years has taken away the honour of duty and replaced it with the sense of having a right to the throne.
When a government is preoccupied with preserving its position and strengthening its weakening grip on its people, there is no time for concern of the weakest. If only they knew the best strategy to strengthen its place would be to address the cries of the weak. That would however mean taking their eyes off themselves.
It is the drive for wealth that has taken precedence over service to the people. A wealth that has led to a government that believes its citizens should be content with kangkung. A wealth that isolates.
If wealth is power, it is no wonder the government decided it was okay to determine our lunch menus. To think the average Malaysian is working hard to aspire for a good serving of kangkung on their dining tables and that a price drop would rouse a household celebration, is ignorance at its worst. It is an indication of how distant our government is from its people.
After all, how can one who is focused on crafting the details of his personal luxury jet empathise with the father who cannot afford to pay his son’s school busfees after they were raised at the beginning of the school year?
But perhaps, wealth has a way of isolating man from society.
Wealth presents escapism from the daily grinds of life that can keep a government which has been elected by the people and for the people, terribly distant from its people.
Mundane activities of grocery shopping that depend entirely on price fluctuations have no bearing on one who spends millions of ringgit on utility bills. The average parent is perpetually confronted with the task of serving a family of five a healthy meal that consists of more than just kangkung, while struggling to stretch each ringgit. These same choices are the only financial solution to save enough to provide their children a university education they never had.
However, the five-figure paycheques of government officials have given them the privilege of driving through rush hour traffic like a Sunday ride on the freeway. So a petrol price hike or a raise in public transport fees are completely irrelevant to them. Perhaps wealth gives a false sense of entitlement, leading to prioratisation of self-interest over the needs of the masses. A dangerous path when one’s main duty is to serve the needs of the masses.
For some to say the kangkung analogy was a mere example is trivialising the mandate given by the electorate. An electoral vote that has chosen a government to be its voice of reason. But the complacency that creeps in after 56 years has taken away the honour of duty and replaced it with the sense of having a right to the throne.
When a government is preoccupied with preserving its position and strengthening its weakening grip on its people, there is no time for concern of the weakest. If only they knew the best strategy to strengthen its place would be to address the cries of the weak. That would however mean taking their eyes off themselves.
It is the drive for wealth that has taken precedence over service to the people. A wealth that has led to a government that believes its citizens should be content with kangkung. A wealth that isolates.
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