Basket Village USA
PETALING JAYA: Whatever the point of view, a hundred million ringgits is a lot of money. For the majority of us, even a small percentage of that amount would amount to more than we can accumulate in our lifetime.
Even in the best of circumstances, it would be a disgrace to offer someone such a large amount of money.
It has been reported that Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak withdrew his application for government residency, allegedly worth RM100million, despite being entitled to the property as the former prime minister.
At a time when millions of people are suffering the fallout from a global pandemic, the “gift†would be appalling to say the least.
Just to see how far 100 million RM can take us if they were distributed more evenly and evenly, the sun spoke with selected people who are experts in their respective fields.
Jason Loh, who covers social, legal and human rights issues at think tank Emir Research, said it for everyone when he pointed out that the money could be used to benefit rakyat.
To get an idea of ​​how far the money can go, take a look at the Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia (BKM) Cash Aid, under which every household with a monthly income of less than RM 2,500 receives RM 2,000.
RM100 million would benefit 50,000 households for a month, or more than 80% of the 61,713 households estimated by the United Nations Children’s Fund and the United Nations Population Fund now live in the provinces. 56 apartments of the housing project for the people across the country.
Any household with an income below RM 2,208 per month is considered to be living below the poverty line.
Alternatively, the government could give 20,000 RM each to smallholder farmers to finance the switch to an Internet of Things fertigation (fertilization and irrigation) system that would increase each farm’s yield by 33% and farmers’ incomes by 23%. %.
The RM100 million could help lift 5,000 farmers with farms of about an acre or two above the poverty line.
“It would also moderate the increase in the price of vegetables in the market,†Loh said.
Of course, the money could also be used to buy laptops for B40 children, pay for food baskets for poor families, and sanitary napkins for girls and women who would otherwise not have access to these basic needs.
According to the President of the Malaysian Medical Association, Dr Koh Kar Chai, the RM100 million could also go a long way in the healing process.
The money, if well spent, could pay a month’s salary for 18,000 young doctors. Otherwise, it could cover the cost of treating 111,000 patients with stage four or five of Covid-19, Koh said.
Much more could also be done for education, for example, to build more schools to reduce the need for double sessions, employ more teaching assistants and improve teacher training, according to the president of the Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia, Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim.
“On top of that, the money could be spent on facilities and equipment for blended learning,†she said.
Noor Azimah said the RM100 million could have gone a long way towards purchasing the free breakfast program.
Unfortunately, it was canceled, she said.
The money could also be used to solve mental health problems, according to the Mental Health Assistance Organization.
“With the money, the government could create a robust and crisis-resilient mental health system,” he said.
“Funding can be used to close the critical gap in the mental health workforce. There is a serious shortage of psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and counselors, â€added the organization.
“This will ensure that as many people as possible will have access to quality mental health care and health education without burdening the already overburdened public health system,” he said.
As these experts have pointed out, this list is not exhaustive.
For example, an injection of money to fight aging health care, public transport, better education, adequate housing, or just to help people make ends meet is more beneficial than putting the money in the pocket. one person pocket.
