KOTA KINABALU: The more affluent Malaysians of all races should come forward and do something for their less fortunate fellow men.
National Institute of Occupational Safety and health chairman, Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, made the call during the 62nd Installation Banquet of the Rotary Club of Kota Kinabalu yesterday, saying that in the pursuit of success in their respective fields, affluent Malaysians must not lose the human touch and forget about helping the needy and the poor.
“We must never become so caught up in the race for wealth and prosperity that we lose all interest beyond our personal rewards or the well being of our immediate families,” he said.
“No amount of money can substitute for this essential human touch and caring values which we should always promote.”
Lee also emphasized that the progress and maturity of a society is not measured by Gross Domestic Products dollars and technological wizardry alone but also by its sense of responsibility, spirit of generosity and the importance it places on the dignity and well being of its less fortunate members.
He also said that, while it was gratifying to note that by and large Malaysians were generous, he felt that more could be done by the affluent to help the poor and the less fortunate out of their concern for their fellow men.
“More could and should be done by the more fortunate Malaysians either individually or collectively to help build a caring society so vital for the attainment of a united and harmonious nation,” he said.
He also said that there was a need for an enduring caring culture and efforts to instill into each and everyone a caring attitude, a feeling for humanity, the poor and the needy and a care for his or her less fortunate human beings.
He added that in the building of a truly and caring culture for Malaysians, the following steps should be considered for implementation.
These include the teaching of school children to be caring as schools are the most appropriate places to instill in the young the sense of being concerned and caring and for more public campaigns to increase the awareness of Malaysians to be concerned and caring in their daily lives.
He also made the call that the private sector should play a bigger role and in this connection, the corporate sector should set up more charitable Foundations to help the less fortunate ones in society, the sick, the poor and the destitute. Such foundations should also contribute to the educational needs of the poor and the deserving.
He also said that the government should provide a bigger allocation to the Social Welfare Department for welfare needs so that the rates of pay-outs by the department under the various welfare schemes for the poor and the deserving can be increased to a more satisfactory level.