In theory no Sarawakian should be dirt poor, but …
LAST week, my kaki (agent) in Bangi, Selangor, informed me that the federal Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development had launched a programme called ‘Enhancing Inclusivity of the Wellbeing of Society’.
The theme of the National Welfare Month couched in such language may imply that the social system of the country has not been very fair to those on the fringe of society. And it is high time for the government of the day to redress that marginalisation.
On its part, the government insists that it has never intended to neglect the elderly poor, the handicapped, and the children in trouble in Malaysia. Welfare aid has been channelled through the welfare ministry, welfare organisations and individual volunteers. The recipients ought to be grateful for the assistance all this while.
A success story, it is claimed to be, and this is cause for celebration. Some 50,000 participants have been enlisted to carry out various activities relevant to the theme of the programme – seminar, handicraft sale and even a dialogue with the elderly people and OKU on the National Transformation 2050 to drive home the meaning of ‘inclusivity’.
The minister, Dato Sri Rohani Abdul Karim, stressed that “no individual or group is marginalised or left out from getting the assistance or help they require”.
If not enough has been done for this segment, a big section of our society, then there’s a need for a proper and serious look at the conditions of this disadvantaged group. Hence the campaign.
Is there a new deal for them? It’s common knowledge that the elderly poor – other than government pensioners or recipients of company’s retirement benefits, and former EPF contributors – and the handicapped in our society cannot afford expensive medicines. Many children in the longhouses and villages are being deprived of playschool or preschool education. Cases of children being abused by adults are pretty common in our society.
A lot of money is necessary for all these activities – publications, uniforms, transportation, and food for the thousands of participants to ensure success of the programme of awareness.
I do not know how many Sarawakians are involved in this exercise. Details of the federal funded programme are not easily available locally. An inkling of what’s happening in the state is news about 100 voters in Pusa getting free tests of their eyesight and free spectacles for those who need to wear glasses. For better to see the ballot paper, I suppose.
Certain political parties in the state seem to be participating in this campaign quietly. The money for the purchase of spectacles comes from the budget of the relevant ministry. However, money for the purchase of wheelchairs to be donated to various organisations in Miri was from another political party’s fund. Two approaches for the same purpose. We are not allowed to call these gifts as political.
Are there not enough funds for welfare purposes in the state that you need political parties to help out?
This can’t be the case considering that since day one of the formation of Malaysia 54 year ago, there has been the promise to provide money for welfare purposes in Sarawak and Sabah; this source of funds would come from the federal government as an obligation under the terms of Sarawak’s and Sabah’s participation in the Malaysia Project.
Those of my readers who wish to trace the origin of this obligation are recommended to read the Report of the Inter-Governmental Committee, 1962.
As we all know, this IGC Report was presented to the legislature, the then Council Negri, on Sept 26, 1962, which then passed a four-part motion welcoming the “decision in principle of the British and Malayan Governments to establish Malaysia by the 31st August, 1963, on the understanding that the special interests of Sarawak will be safeguarded; noting that an Inter-Governmental Committee has been established to work out the detailed constitutional arrangements and the form of these safeguards, which will be laid before this Council”. (The other two parts of the motion are about authority given to the members of Council Negri to represent Sarawak on the IGC and the authority given to the Governor in Council to appoint any members to the committee or subcommittees).
Money promised in Council Negri
For those who may not be able to get a copy of the IGC, hereby is quoted the text of the relevant parts of the IGC in so far as it concerns Sarawak:
Chapter III (Proposed constitutional Arrangements)
Religion
“15.-(3) Sections 36 and 37 of the Malayan Education Act, 1961, should not be applied to North Borneo and Sarawak; Federal Law should not provide for special financial aid for the establishment of Muslim institutions or the instruction in the Muslim religion of persons professing that religion in respect of North Borneo and Sarawak without the concurrence of the State Government concerned; and the Federal Constitution (Malaysian document, my insertion for clarity) should be amended to secure that where federal law provides for special financial aid for Muslim institutions or Muslim religious education in pursuance of Article 12 (2) of the Federal Constitution, the Malaysia Government would grant to the North Borneo and Sarawak Governments proportionate amounts for social welfare purposes in those States.”
It goes on to say, “These amounts should bear the same proportion to the amount of special financial aid paid from Federal revenue as the amount of Federal revenue derived from a Borneo State during the financial year in question and retained by the Malaysian Government bears to the total Federal revenue for that year.”
If all these have been carried out by the governments (federal and state) we would have no problem with money for welfare purpose in both Sabah (formerly North Borneo) and Sarawak.
Don’t you think so?
My guess is that there’s a lot of money for welfare purpose in the current budget alone, if you believe the recent statement by Jakim that about RM65.3 million has been channelled through the RM80 million Special Fund to 556 registered pondok schools, Sekolah Menengah Agama Rakyat (SAR) and tahfiz institutions.
If IGC is to be believed and the necessary follow-up actions have been taken by successive governments for the 50 over years, you can work out the amount of funds due to Sabah and Sarawak for welfare aid.
In theory, the amount accumulated over so many years must be big.
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