I WAS walking along a row of shops in Jalan Song, Kuching, this week. The building houses mostly offices on its upper floors.
Conspicuously messy were the mailboxes on the staircases leading to the offices. They were stuffed with flyers and calling cards from money-lending companies, loan sharks or Ah Longs.
It was worse at the vacated offices. The paraphernalia distributed by the Ah Longs were scattered all over the floors and entrances of the vacant lots.
Loan sharks are most active during bad times. When people are hard up, it is time for moneylenders to cash in. And why not, they are in it to make money like everyone else in business.
Legal moneylenders should be considered a help as they are an option for small-time business people to obtain a loan to tide over a difficult period. What we should not tolerate are the exorbitant interest rates charged by loan sharks and the strong-arm tactics they deploy against defaulters.
Just how bad is the Malaysian economy at the moment? We do not need an economist to explain to us the state of the economy. Just observe the situation around us and we will have a fair idea of what’s going on.
This week, I read about the recent decision by the Government Employees Co-operative Society Berhad (Kopeks) of Sabah to settle debts owed by its members to Ah Longs to the hefty tune of RM500,000.
The writer of the article also wondered if Kopeks is not actually encouraging its members to go into debt, because it could easily bail them out any time when the situation becomes critical.
The bailout was a precedent that set a bad example of co-operative fund management, he wrote.
The Kopeks affair also reminded us how bad the economic situation in Sabah is right now. If government servants can go into serious debt in spite of having a monthly salary, imagine the situation for those without jobs, and those in the rural areas who have to live off the land just to keep body and soul together.
It would not be wrong to conclude perhaps that in this period of high inflation, even those with salaries are in fact living below the poverty line.
Then there was another story on a news portal about the unusually slow business at Ramadan bazaars in Negeri Sembilan this year.
The reporter indicated that Malaysians seem to be tightening their belts because of the rising cost of food prices, pointing to the small number of people going to the three Ramadan bazaars in Seremban and Senawang in the state.
A spot check at the three bazaars showed that not only were fewer people frequenting these places but some of the tents were also empty. Because of bad business, some traders packed up and left.
This is a far cry from last year, when the bazaars were congested from 4pm onwards and the traders did a roaring business.
One trader said she was able to make about RM500 a day from the few hours of work at her stall during Ramadan but now, she would be lucky to earn RM200.
She felt that people were feeling the pinch and did not have the purchasing power of previous years because the prices of essential items have also gone up.
A reader who commented on the article said it is no longer a joyous time for Malaysians during festive occasions. Many in the lower-income bracket are actually worried about the extra cost involved in the festivities.
He rightly pointed out that celebrating a festival has now become a burden for many Malaysians.
Also this week, I met an old Malay friend in Kuching. He is a retiree and was quite a man-about-town type in his younger days.
He invited me to visit him during this coming Hari Raya and I said I would. Then I told him that I would be dropping by just to have coffee with him and wish him and his family Selamat Hari Raya.
Then he said it would be a low-scale celebration this Raya for his family as times are not as good as before.
After retirement, he went into the fish industry — as a supplier of fish to be more precise. This was good for a while but as his debtors kept the credit piling and did not make good their promises, it went all the way down.
He realised, perhaps not too late, that the credit business is a tough one and got out of it before it spiralled into an out of control inferno.
Today, my friend has a sundry shop — a small business which is thriving, but more importantly keeps his wife and a daughter busy.
Living a more quiet life now, he is quite content with his monthly pension.
Personally, I do not think it is necessary to hold lavish celebrations every festive occasion. The joy of the occasion is about the warm seasonal greetings and the ability of our people of diverse backgrounds to embrace each other’s cultural differences with the utmost respect and the highest degree of friendship and camaraderie.
On this note, I will make an effort to visit as many Malay friends as possible in Kuching during the coming Hari Raya.
Selamat Hari Raya. Maaf Zahir dan Batin
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