COMMENT | Marhaen and Madani

COMMENT | Oct 17 is International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. This resolution was adopted on Dec 22, 1992, at the UN General Assembly.

Based on UN prediction, by the end of 2022, 8.4 percent of the world’s population (670 million people) were expected to be living in extreme poverty and as many as around 575 million people would still be trapped in extreme poverty by 2030.

This may have not taken into account the dire situation in Gaza, Lebanon and the Middle East.

Just a week ago, Malaysiakini columnist P Gunasegaram wrote a mind-disturbing article titled “When 1pct of population owns 50pct of wealth”. All this points to an unequal world that needs fairness.

Poverty is one of the greatest tragedies against equality and social justice. Is poverty natural or conditioned? In this age of AI, the human race has yet to resolve one of its oldest evils - poverty.

Since 2021, every Oct 17, the Gabungan Marhaen - a coalition of grassroots communities - uses the date to highlight and voice out the problems faced by the poor. We called Oct 17 “Hari Marhaen” - a day for the oppressed. This important date is dedicated to eradicating poverty.

Let me voice out some of the issues faced by the marhaen (the common people) in relation to the Madani government.