The poor will appreciate more help, less talk

The Barisan Nasional government should take proactive steps to ensure that its socio-economic policies reach out to all targeted groups at the lower rungs of society if the coalition wanted to regain its lost electoral grounds.

Universiti Sains Malaysia senior lecturer in the School of Social Sciences, Sivamurugan Pandian called on the BN government to also first study the needs and requirements of lower income groups before formulating and implementiing policies for them.

Although the BN had formulated various people-orientated policies and programmes, he said the lower income groups have not fully benefited from them due to poor implementation at ground level.

“Some programmes are also not benefiting the lower rungs because the policies were not formulated and implemented according to their needs,” he told Malaysiakini.

He said the recent by-election defeats for BN in Permatang Pauh and Kuala Terengganu showed that the federal government policies and programmes were not reaching the target groups.

“It must be due to incorrect implementation by the government officers, wrong policies or discrimination.

“Whatever the reasons are, BN’s popular rating has suffered badly,” Sivamurugan said.

The poor are getting poorer

He pointedly noted that the rich were getting richer and the poor were getting poorer under the current economic system.

He said the cry for help from the lower rungs of society, who make up 30 per cent of Malaysians, for more education, business and employment opportunities clearly showed the present system had not given the right benefits to the right group of people.

Among his suggestions to improve BN policies were upgrading rural development programmes, public health and education policies and infrastructure systems in Sabah and Sarawak.

He also suggested the government carry out programmes to cut down poverty, illiteracy and crime among Malaysians, and provide proper housing for the poor which will eradicate squatter areas.

The government should also look into upgrading the infrastructure and facilities of all schools in the country, not just the national schools, he added.

Immediate pro-active steps needed

He said the middle and upper classes seemed to have benefited the most from current changes taking place in the Malaysian economic and political landscape, while the lower income group continued to live in hardship.

“While middle and upper classes are calling out for more reforms in governance, human rights, justice system, the lower rungs were keener to talk ‘bread and butter’ issues.

“The federal government should take immediate pro-active steps to tackle issues affecting the poor. These people are fighting to have quality life.

“Government policies should focus on their needs and rights to regain their support,” Sivamurugan said.

Although he agreed that such policies were already in place, he said the government programmes could not reach the target groups due to poor delivery system.

“It’s important for the government not just to formulate policies, but also constantly and consistently check on their implementation to ensure effective delivery,” said the academician.