SHE distanced herself from her classmates, and in the most secretive and swiftest way, finished off what was in her lunch box without leaving a crumb, and continued with her studies.
We (her classmates) were happily taking peeps at each other’s food containers and sharing our food. We were poor village children and what we had were eggs or vegetables from our own farms.
One day, we decided to find out what fine food that classmate of ours was taking that she would not want to share. We took her lunch box and opened it in front of all the classmates. At that precise moment, there was complete silence among the naughtier ones in our midst, and the classmate who was picked on, burst into tears.
We all looked rather sheepish for letting our foolish curiosity get the better of us, thinking we would find some special food in her lunch box but did not. All she had was only rice and a small piece of salted fish!
While she was devastated her secret had been so crudely exposed, all the classmates involved felt very sorry. Later, we found out she woke up early to help her parents tap rubber, and she had to help out at the farm after school as well.
So, she was always in a rush to eat her simple meal at recess as she had to get back to class for the day’s lessons after that, and also do her homework and revision before going home. She had no time to study with all the domestic chores she had to do.
She was my primary school classmate named “Beautiful Lotus” (Mei-Lian) to whom I owe an apology.
Memories of mischievous acts in primary school came flooding back after the release of a report last week by an NGO – the Muslim Volunteer Malaysia Association (MVM) – claiming three out of four students in the country’s public universities had admitted to being in situations where they were so broke that they could not afford even to eat.
The Higher Education Ministry was quick to rubbish the claim, saying the Ministry had been providing poor students with student tithe cards – khairat – and other welfare funds. These students also received vouchers to buy books in recent years.
According to Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh, investigations by the various Deputy Vice Chancellors of Student Affairs and Alumni at the universities concerned revealed there were no starving students as claimed by MVM.
Idris pointed out that the Ministry kept details of “financially-challenged” students from the very first day of their enrolment and provided them with necessary aid throughout their course. The report could have been sensationalised and not reflective of the general state of the students’ finances.
But questions do set in. Are our students so used to spoon-feeding that they expect the government to serve food on their tables? Sadly, we seem to be moving in the direction of lavish pampering.
Look at what the PAS Syura Council said: “University students are the ones that are fighting (berjihad) to acquire knowledge at higher education institutions and will soon become the leaders of a civilised race and nation. As such, those fighting for knowledge rightly deserve to be given assistance for all their life’s necessities.”
Is that so?
Based on the PAS logic (which is often warped), just because the students are fighting for knowledge, they can demand that food be served on their tables and all the essentials of life provided to them as of right. If that’s cry-baby attitude and mentality, can our country hope to produce quality leaders of tomorrow?
The questions that go abegging are, do our university students have issues in managing their finances, how do they manage the PTPTN money they receive and are they using their student cards to get a discount?
It is no secret many students are “selling” their annual RM250 vouchers for cash instead of spending them on books and stationery. Such vouchers could have been sold to purchase non-essential goods or some branded items. So when the students really needed to buy books and stationery, they had to use the food money to do it.
There are students from not too well-off family who budget their spending with prudence. Instead of patronising a posh outlet charging RM10 for a cup of coffee, they wisely divert to a kopitiam where they pay only one-tenth of that “branded price” for a cuppa and still get their money’s worth.
Instead of eating out, they cook their own rice and simple dishes whenever possible.
Some needy students are taking up part-time jobs such as working in restaurants or even doing translations for publications. Despite their extracurricular activities, they are doing equally well in “acquiring knowledge” and scoring good exam grades as well as submitting course assignments on time.
Sabahan TV personality and actress Daphne Iking tweeted she had worked as a cabaret dancer, a part-time tutor and also a cigarette sales promoter to pay for her school fees, food and lodging while doing a course at Universiti Sains Malaysia.
We, of course, cannot assume everyone can be as talented as Daphne but her gumption to “multi-task” to acquire tertiary education should serve as a fine example of resourcefulness – as well as a morale-booster – for students facing high living costs and struggling to make ends meet.
MVM president Muhammad Jantan has admitted “the students have the money to eat but overuse their funds on certain days” and as a remedy, he pointed out, the Association is planning entrepreneurship workshops for the students.
It is, indeed, disturbing that finance management courses have to be organised for university students to ensure their survival after graduation when the virtue of living within one’s means should have been imbued from young – like how my classmate “Beautiful Lotus” had been practising at a tender age.
There may be cases of university students who are really in distress. Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has called on them not to suffer in silence but let on about their plight so that the government or the university can render them assistance.
Here, as a tribute to “Beautiful Lotus” for her resilience in the face of extreme hardships and her deep care, respect and love for her struggling parents, I would like to share something beautiful about my courageous classmate named after this beautiful flower.
Yes, the Lotus is, indeed, a beautiful bloom and though it comes from the murkiest water, it still grows into the purest thing. May our university students live up to that pureness of purpose in managing their lives – their finances – and be ready to take over as the leaders and builders of our nation.